Hoover Dam Tours

An Englishman flies over Hoover Dam

2006-03-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

An Englishman in Las Vegas. Trip report 17th - 20th November

Well you've entered this post and for that I'm very grateful but now you need to decide whether it is worth continuing for this will be a long report. I've read other peoples trip reports and found them both informative and entertaining with the nuggets of information usually buried in the small detail. I know some people like rambling and others short and snappy. For my sins this will be a rambling piece and thus I'll more than understand if you wish to hit the back button and eradicate this message of banality and tedium. For those that have chosen to persevere then thanks, grab a few teas or coffees and get ready for a fun filled ride (well I thought it was). Please also be aware that I get excited about even the smallest things so be prepared for animated language when discussing things as trivial as robes and bed sizes!

To gain a better understanding of me and to validate the credibility of my opinions I am 34 years of age, male, single and of average height, looks and build. For those who wanting an indication of whether it's worth trawling through here's a quick summary.

Flight with Virgin, check in at Bellagio, Bellagio pool and Jacuzzi, Caesars, Forum shops, Cheesecake factory, Ellis Island karaoke, Las Vegas outlet centre, In 'n' out burger, Gun store, Top of the World restaurant, Barry Manilow at the Hilton, VIP table service at Pure, Caesars Palace, Fashion Show mall, northern strip walk, freefall tandem parachute jump, dinner at Morton's, Penn & Teller at The Rio, check out, flight home.

Thursday. Check in

The trip was for a Christmas gift/do from the company I work for. Eight of us went and it was brilliant. It had been booked about six months previously and I'd used that time to research what I thought was good and created a loose timetable so I'd know when, what and where to go. The last two weeks had even seen the office filled in the morning and evening with a playing of 'Time to say goodbye' as I'd read that this was one the songs that accompanied the Bellagio fountain show.

Thursday morning came with a 4.15 am wake up after a night where I only really grabbed about an hour or two of sleep. I was excited but think was more concerned about oversleeping, despite having three different alarms dotted around the room to ensure I got up. Anyway I picked up a close living work colleague, hooked up with some others and after dropping off the car got a train down to Gatwick. We checked in, got some currency from Travelex and equipped ourselves with some breakfast. I'd been holding off on my intake of food before Vegas just in an effort to keep trim but was adamant that in the land of steaks and burgers the cuffs would come off. Hence the first breakfast was a nice double egg, sausage, bacon, beans, toast, mushrooms and chips feast washed down with two cups of tea. This was getting good, the suitcase was handed over and thus no longer a responsibility, my belly was full and content and we were getting closer to going to Vegas. Final mooch around the shops and we boarded the plane.

We were in a row of six towards the rear of the plane and I had an aisle seat which suited me fine. I'd been looking forward to seeing what the air stewardesses were like as I'd never travelled with Virgin and they are legendarily supposed to be good looking. They were and I tried my best, without being annoying, to be polite and humorous to obtain a glimmer of warmth from them but alas to no avail. C'est la vie but they couldn't dampen my enthusiasm. The plane rumbled down the runway and lifted off to a loud 'whoooh' from myself which received a stern look from my friend, Matt who was sitting next to me. It was a bit loud and I admit probably was annoying for others but this was the moment when Vegas was starting (bar landing of course) and I couldn't contain my excitement. The flight proceeded ok and I remained buoyant and bubbly throughout the 10 hour journey. The food was enjoyable, braised beef with some nice pots, carrots and broccoli and a profiterole dessert that was mucho yummy. I know some think airplane food muck, but to me it's free and passes the time so I was all for enjoying it. Tried to watch a film on the scratched and poor resoluted screen, 'Land of the Dead' which was ok but a poor entry in the zombie genre I feel. I also spent some time wandering around the plane and looking out the window towards the rear. The scenery was great, it might not have been stunning at some of the points I looked out but it was just the size of the country that was amazing. Wilderness would stretch as far as the eye could see yet snowed over roads appeared to still have been cleared despite the fact that only a few people might use them. The plane began its descent and the scenery became even better as we flew over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

We touched down and the first glimpses of the Luxor and Mandalay were causing my excitement levels to peak in the red. We hurried off the plane and then spent an eternity in the immigration queue. By the time we got out of the queue I was the second to last person to go through but I understand the need for security and wasn't hugely fussed. Collected luggage and boarded the last shuttle to leave the airport. Interesting drive with the driver seemingly oblivious to her passengers and rambling with her co driver about the wayward ways of her daughter. She connected with us when I excitedly pointed out a motorcycle cop that looked like CHiPs and we all chatted on the remainder of the journey. It did make us chuckle and I was busily craning my head round to observe every different building and car that went past. Got to the Bellagio and swung into the car port with my excitement at virtual fever pitch. As we unloaded our suitcases from the shuttle the fountain show started up (not that we could see it from where we were) and the strains of 'Time to say goodbye' wafted over us. I was amazed, the very song that I'd been playing in the UK to prep us for the holiday was playing just as we arrived.

We entered the foyer and I just wandered through with my mouth open. It was wonderful. Vibrant, classy, buzzing with people milling around of different backgrounds and it smelt just so good with a mixture of citrus and fresh cut flowers. It had such a great feel to it, like you just wanted to sit down and take in all that surrounded you and just watch the world go by. I could see the conservatory but didn't want to venture in there while we were checking in and leave the others. I could also see across the casino floor which looked a mass of activity and combined with the pianist playing in the Petrossian bar I confess to being pleasantly overwhelmed. We got our room allocation and headed off through the casino to the lifts with myself constantly circling as I tried to take everything in. Our room, that I shared with a good friend and one of my directors, was on the 27th floor, room number 103. What a great room, large and spacious with a marble foyer, remote controlled drapes and nets (which I accidentally shut as I thought it was a light switch), plenty of wardrobe storage and a nice big TV. The beds were huge and comfy (certainly when I flung myself onto them) and the view from the window was great. Ok I wasn't looking over the strip but I was looking at the back of Caesars and its pool, the Rio and the mountains in the distant and the view became even better at night. Oh and did I mention the bathroom. I clapped my hands together and laughed when I saw the huge glass walled shower, the deep bath and the proliferation of big white towels. Oh baby.

One of our party called the room and we agreed to head down to the pool as we had discussed over that mornings breakfast. I slung on my robe and shorts and off we went. What a fabulous pool. It shut at 5.00 pm and we got there at about 4.15 but those 45 minutes were grand. The pool was lovely and warm, not too deep and lovingly detailed with underwater lights and the pattern inset into the tiling. Every time I drew breath I would look up at the hotel and shake my head not believing that, yes here I was actually swimming in the pool of the Bellagio. As the sky got darker the buildings lighting played more of a part in its beauty and it grew even more picturesque. We finished here and dived into the Jacuzzi. Well if the pool was great then this was fantastic. Even warmer water and strong bubbly jets that when you were close up to them gave you a great tingly massage over one's tired limbs. God I felt so privileged thinking wow, here I am reclining in a warm, oversized Jacuzzi looking up at the Bellagio in the Nevada desert air.

I returned upstairs to get ready for our first night out in Vegas. Matt had already showered and headed downstairs so I took the time to crank up the Bellagio music channel (number 31) and jump in the shower. I've not been to that many hotels so being able to take the time to prepare for a night out with in a huge roomy shower, with plenty of towels, no worries about how they would dry and some music playing was a real luxury that I enjoyed savouring. Although I'd been up nigh on 25 hours I felt great and that feeling of getting ready for a night out seemed to banish all thoughts of jet lag. I was on 'going out time' and my body was fine with that. I dressed in black velvet trousers and a nice white striped shirt and headed downstairs to hook up with the others in the Petrossian bar. Everything felt so right, the pianist was playing, people dressed for the evening were milling around along with the odd newly wed couple and I felt elevated to a very special club.

We had decided our first meal would be the cheesecake factory so we left the hotel and wandered down to the strip to take in the fountain show. They played some kind of 'I love America' song and the fountains were great. They are like a tidy, clean firework display with the same kind of whooshing sound and similarly eliciting 'oh's and aah's' but without the smoke or debris. I left them feeling warm inside and looking forward to seeing them again. We then walked to Caesars. Blimey this place is massive and although it could be construed as being a little tacky it has an ebullience and energy that you can practically taste. From the strip it's huge and very impressive and after passing through its doors it just seems to go on forever. We managed to follow the signs through to the forum shops and eventually found the cheesecake factory. The ceiling in the forum was just mad. We all stopped and stared and tried to work out if the ceiling was actually moving, it wasn't but it was so cool in how the changing light was affecting the painted clouds. We booked a table and split up to individually explore the mall with myself checking out the exotic car place. You can't view the cars up close but there is a fenced walkway around the edges and there are some cracking motors including a few wonderful Ferraris, a lovely silver Lambo Gallardo and a couple of Murcielagos.

Headed back to the cheesecake factory and got a table. The service here was excellent. Warm, friendly and helpful. I'd been warned about the huge portions so we settled for one chicken starter between the eight of us which was very nice and then all seemed to have a selection of burgers. I had the ranch burger which was big but I wouldn't say absolutely massive. It basically had bun, burger, chunks of steak, mushrooms, cheese and bacon slices (I'd asked for the healthy inclusion of tomato and lettuce to be removed) and was very tasty. The accompanying fries were very nice but I didn't think there were enough of them. Being in the gambling town we started to bet amongst the eight of us how old certain members of the staff were. For every person we guessed another one would appear, we would ask their name, get them to hold up the back and front of their hands and then ask them to return in three minutes. Everyone would chuck in a dollar to the pot, we'd all take turns and then relay them to the staff. It sounds silly but it was fun and with the good nature of the staff I think they enjoyed it as well. There was one poor girl though called Rosa who worked on the front desk. She came round, showed us her hands and then disappeared before returning 3 minutes later. We went round the table with ages ranging from 26 to 34 only for her to tell us she was 19!! Poor thing, she laughed with us but I hope she wasn't insulted. I ordered the original cheesecake because there were so many cheesecakes to choose from that I thought starting with the original would be the best. The waiter gave a nod of approval as he jotted down my request which made me smile. Two others ordered cheesecakes but couldn't finish them. Mine was very nice but suddenly my stomach began to close up and I couldn't finish it either (maybe that's why they only gave a smaller portion of fries!!) The others at the table began to goad me and started chucking in money to bet I couldn't finish the cheesecake. The pot hit $46 and I just went for it, who wouldn't? My glass of water helped and I even licked the plate to demonstrate my victory. Stomach was a little tight but what a sweet 46 bucks. We paid and left and two of our party had booked the helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon starting at 5.00 am so they hit the sack and the rest decided what to do.

I said I just wanted to check out Ellis Island and see what the karaoke was really like as I read reports that said it was a bit dingy. The others said they couldn't let me go on my own so tagged along. We headed off past Ballys to Koval Lane. As we proceeded further down the road you could see it becoming less glamorous. We didn't feel threatened but you could tell it wasn't as nice as the strip. Then we saw it, right next to the 7-11 and I began to have grave doubts. We continued on and strode in and wished we hadn't. We didn't feel intimidated but it was definitely a locals place and was a little cramped, dark and dingy. The guy singing was good but we felt a little unnerved probably like the two backpackers did in the film 'American Werewolf in London' when they walked into 'The Slaughtered Lamb'. I quickly bought a round, $1 a beer, and we vacated the establishment pronto. As I left I looked back and saw a guy playing the slot machine wearing a baggy, stained white wife beater vest and a pair of black, belt less trousers. Very disappointed and we scuttled back to the strip as quickly as we could. I was looking forward to going a little mad on our first night but after pushing to go to such a shit hole my credibility for choice of things to do was a little strained and I felt a little embarrassed for pushing us to visit a dump. The people were ok and I'm sure if we were more 'jeaned up' and fitted in more we would have seen real locals enjoying themselves but as it was it was a jarring difference to the world we had just been baptised to. We gambled a little bit in the Bellagio casino. I put $100 down on the blackjack table and played for about 25 mins losing about 30 bucks and then retired to the room at about 2-30-3.00 ish.

Friday

Awoke around 8.00 ish, showered (still loving the ease of the shower) and met the two who had gone on the helicopter tour of the grand canyon the first thing in the morning. They'd had a great time and thought the Grand Canyon stunning. We jumped in a cab and headed down to the Las Vegas Outlet Centre. Ok place although it is a little 'low rent' which I'd expected. The other two headed back to the strip after an hour as I was still mooching around. I'd been to Canada/American about six years previously and had kicked myself for not buying more items. I had a really good look around but just couldn't find things that I really liked. I then found myself fretting that I was trying to convince myself that I should buy something for something's sake as opposed to actually liking it. Wandered round the large Nike store but couldn't find anything that really fired me up. Headed outside to grab a taxi while I ummed and ahhed about whether to head to the fashion show mall or check out In'n'Out burger.

I'd read a lot about this before going and was really looking forward to checking it out, liking the idea of its refreshing simplicity. Just selling only burgers, fries and drinks should offer a better attention to detail as there are fewer things to distract from the menu. The cab dropped me off at the one on Dean Martin Drive and I had a nice chat with him en route. What a great place In'n'Out burger was. It was busy and vibrant with a real hubbub, energy and atmosphere to it. I loved the way they called customers guests and I moved to the desk to order my food. Double, double without the lettuce and tomato, fries and I wanted to order something from the secret menu so I'd feel a little special and thus went for a Neapolitan. Got my ticket and waited. How cool I thought to be able to wait for your order while they prepped it. It also gave me a good opportunity to do some people watching and bask in the moment. My number was called and I collected my food. It's great that it comes in those little red bucket tray things to prevent spillage etc of chips and as it was a nice day I decided to eat outside. Settled down with my shades on, jumper off, took a photo of it on my phone as the camera was with another in the party and then took my first bite. Oh god it was good. Yes the little wrapper wrapped around the backside of the burger was a little greasy but we are talking a burger here and you have to get a little dirty when enjoying a burger. It was just so juicy and succulent with the chopped onions and the toasted inside of the burger adding a little crunch. The fries were great as well, hot and freshly cut and the Neapolitan milkshake was excellent. Nice and thick so it took a fair chunk of sucking and then it would offer at different times during its consumption hit's of individual chocolate, strawberry and vanilla almost like some kind of Willy Wonka chocolate bar. After this I hit the store next door, keen to get some souvenirs especially now that the meal had lived up to the hype and also because I remember seeing Mikey wearing one in the film Swingers. Chose one for me my brother and one for myself after trying them on and debating what sizes, along with some key rings and a large handled mug.

I'd called some of the gang earlier and we agreed to meet at the Gun store on east Tropicana at 2.00pm to fire some guns on their range. I then had the task of getting across town and finding a cab. Needless to say there weren't any at In'n'Out so I struck out towards the strip to find a cab. Crossing the crossroads junction by the burger place must have taken me about 15 minutes. It's never entirely clear when you get a green man or walk signal how other cars can still turn into the road and it also seemed to take an age for the lights to change. Not a great deal of people walk I think. Anyway got across the road and over the interstate bridge, ducking past a homeless tramp who'd obviously lost it all on 'red' but didn't get a chance to douse me in an alcohol cloud while demanding money. Hurried down to the Excalibur (closest hotel) and jumped in a cab which then pulled round to the front of the hotel and said he had to wait until the cab in front had moved. I said fine I'll get in the cab in front and even though he'd only carried me about 10 metres told me I had to pay the standing charge of $3. I bundled into the next one and asked him to head to the gun store. He seemed a bit morose but I tried to jolly him along by talking about In'n'Out burgers (my fallback conversation piece with any cab driver it now seemed!) and how busy a day he was having. He dropped me off at the store with a fare of $12.00 and I gave him $15.00. No gratitude so I asked him if that was ok to which he replied that another dollar would make him happy. I responded that I'd made him laugh on the journey and he should be happy with that.

Wandered in and was like a kid in a sweet shop. Machine guns hanging on walls, handguns in cabinets, non politically correct paper targets on the wall, what bliss! The other guys arrived, I presented my coupons and requested my guns. Two 25 bullet belts for the SAW, two 30 round magazines for the M15 and 50 rounds for a Beretta 92F. The staff, or at least one of the main guys, wasn't particularly friendly. I understand that safety is paramount but when someone is spending money and is just demonstrating excitability I don't think it hurts to smile. I did ask if we could join the belt of bullets for the SAW together and then wrap them round my forearm as I fired the gun into the ceiling with one hand, he gruffly responded that doing that would take my arm off.

We went onto the range and started firing the machine guns. The SAW was wicked. Set up on a tripod with a laser sight and the belt in, it was joy to squeeze off a few rounds, puncturing the Osama paper target and kicking up the sand behind. As we grew more confident we fired longer bursts and the noise was fantastic. Next up was the M15. I had asked for the M4 carbine to which they feigned ignorance, even when I said the gun that de Niro fired in heat. Now this was a nice gun. Pulled in tight to the shoulder, the noise was deafening and the way the bullet casings ejected from the gun bouncing off the wall and onto the floor or onto me and the gun smoke drifted up through the holes in the barrel handle was just great.

Finally it was time for the Beretta. They seem to give you a lot more freedom with the handguns and basically gave a quick demo and said off you go. We had to individually load the magazines and even though the mag in the Beretta holds 15 rounds I could only push down 10. Call me weak but Jesus the spring on it was amazingly tough. I was pushing so hard to get the 11th bullet in that it felt like days at school when you played outdoor sports in winter and upon coming back in couldn't do up your shirt because your fingers were so cold and numb. In the end, and after ridicule from friends who I later discovered had had a similar problem, I settled on 10 bullets a clip and got stuck in shooting down range. I tried to adopt a million cop positions that I'd seen on telly and tried aiming but wasn't sure if I was hitting anything with the way the gun was riding up and to the right. In the end I thought to hell with it and just pretended I was either Martin Riggs or John McLane. I loved having a full clip (ok 2/3rds full), leaning the hand gun to the side, slamming in the clip, depressing the slide release, it chunking forward to chamber a round and then firing off 10 shots in quick succession. Granted I probably hit nothing but it did fulfil many Hollywood action fantasies. Fun was over and I put the gun down with the mechanism open as they had handed them to us. Turned to the instructor who told us to take the handguns back round into the shop. Turned to pick my one up, foolishly grabbing over the top and accidentally hit the release latch snapping it shut on my finger. My friends naturally laughed until the blood dripped off my finger where they then expressed concern. The instructor started to attend to it before asking me to come round to the shop side where he had some tape etc. I quickly slapped a little blood on my target as a reminder before washing it down in their toilet and getting him to bandage my war wound or 'Beretta's kiss' as I decided to call it.

We hopped on a bus back to the strip and started chatting to this nice older chap about his guns, life history and sister who used to be in the CIA. I stopped into New York, New York for a quick go on the Manhattan express which was ok. It wasn't awesome but it offered some thrills particularly the inverted loop which was quite novel. I think $9.95 would be a more accurate price for it. Anyway wandered back up the strip finding a large, clean chemist that was a great find stocking reasonably priced drinks etc. Picked up some plasters and water and hurried up towards the Bellagio. I've got to say that this was one of my favourite times of the day. Just as the sun was going down and the lights coming on there was a sense of magic in the air, a palpable tingling of expectant energy that you could almost eat with a spoon. It was like the strip was slowly coming alive, like a good friend waking up and wanting to party. Got back to my room for a quick shave (slightly more difficult with my bandaged finger) and a shower. Slipped into a dark blue suit with a pink shirt and headed down to the foyer. Hooked up with everyone and jumped in two cabs to zing over to the Stratosphere. Traffic was heavy but not immovable and we were only a few minutes late.

Went into the stratosphere and took the long walk to the elevator, which did seem an age away. Up the lift and out into the restaurant. A few steps down, greet the waitress and 'Oh my god, check out that view!' It stopped all of us in our tracks as we each saw it for the first time. Now that view really is something else. Over 800 ft up, looking down over a plethora of street lights and buildings. We were shown to our table of eight and I was sitting right on the end next to the glass. The view man just had me humbled, I'm quite chatty (as you can probably tell) but I was content to just sit there and just watch Las Vegas circle by me. In the distance I spotted a strange orange light and realising what it was watched as the moon slowly rose up over the mountains in the distance, amazing. The food arrived and I ordered Portobello mushrooms, the New York steak with maitre'd butter (unfortunately it had garlic in it) and shared the chocolate stratosphere tower desert. The food was good, granted it wasn't outstanding but I've a simple palette and was content to eat anything whilst enjoying the view. The service was also warm and friendly and we didn't get any hassle from the woman who offers to take your photograph (I say this because I've read people complain about her being pushy). We settled the bill. I'd didn't see it but I'm sure it was big and grabbed a couple of cabs to the Hilton.

Some of our party weren't too keen on seeing Barry Manilow but I was looking forward to it and if nothing else at least it was a Las Vegas show. We had picked our tickets up earlier in the day and made our way into the auditorium. I was surprised to see people as I entered waving luminous green glowsticks. I've done my share of proper clubbing and I couldn't imagine Barry belting out a couple of rave anthems. We sat down and proceeded to look at the rest of the crowd whilst we waited for it to start. Predominantly older (35-50) females with some already standing up and jigging to the piped music, there were also a few guys standing up and attempting to cut some moves but these were obviously guys who dance once every year at a wedding or gathering. It was all good fun and I was happy to see people enjoying themselves. The beginning started to build and 'Right here, right now' started coming through the speakers. You could feel the anticipation rise as the bass became more thumping, they started to mix the track with 'I see you baby, shaking that arse' whilst the screen on the stage started to flash up images of Barry and his album covers, the mixing between the two became more feverish and the lights began to twirl and by this point the atmosphere was reaching fever point with audience hands going in the air and people whooping and clapping. The montage ended with a voice saying 'I'm Barry Manilow's biggest fan in the USA' there was a crash and Barry walked out singing 'the miracle is you'. The crowd went utterly apeshit and I admit so did I. It was one of the best build up and entrances I'd seen in a long time. Barry was very good. He was funny, self deprecating and offered up some interesting stories about his launch to fame. When he performed Mandy the screen showed him playing when he was 23 and about a minute into it Barry drifted onto stage on his piano singing in perfect unison with his earlier recording. It was a good section and a stand out moment for many in our party.

Later he performed a number to the left hand side of the stage and chatted to a woman in the VIP audience who was from the UK which elicited roars from us and also from other Brits within the audience. He went on to talk about how he wrote commercials before he became a star including ones for McDonalds and the classic' Dr Pepper, so misunderstood'. He would change after every song into a new jacket and I've got to say that most, if not all of them, were pretty damn funky. Before too long he started Copacabana which got everyone up dancing (including ourselves) and clapping. A gantry came down from the ceiling which Barry and his dancers marched up and continued dancing to Copacabana to. It was quite cool as he was right above the stalls and almost level with us who were up in the circle. He finished in a blaze and swept off the stage before returning to perform 'one voice' virtually acappella. The lights shut down, the large M that framed the stage turned green, tiny little green lights embedded in the walls of the theatre came on and everyone started waving their glow sticks. It was quite a sight and Barry finished the song with the audience singing with him. The show finished to thunderous and deserved applause and we all poured out of the hotel to be greeted with the mother of all taxi queues.

One of our gang disappeared and then came back telling us to follow him. He'd managed to find this 10 seater mini van that was decked out like a stretch limo with neon and leather seats etc. I believe it was called a land yacht. It has the radio playing but seemed only to be playing adverts. It didn't matter though as we weren't queuing anymore and were heading down the strip. We went past the mirage as the volcano blew and it looked quite cool what with the fire and water spraying everywhere. Pulled up at Caesars as five of us were going on to Pure and the others were content to walk back to the Bellagio.

Met Vegas VIP from the LVOL board, who had arranged our VIP entry and table service to Pure, next to the sport book area, introduced him to the guys and then attempted to push up to the bouncers. The general admission queue looked ridiculous and must have meant at least a 2 hour wait. Considering what we were going to pay for the table service I was glad the place was popular. We managed to get to the bouncers, Vegas VIP cleared our entry and then they asked for photo ID. I went to pull out my driving license and it wasn't there, panic!! Oh god where is that? The others admitted they didn't have ID either so we moved away from the entrance. Vegas VIP was concerned that our table might be bumped so we all agreed to race back to the Bellagio and grab some ID. En route back I realised that after my Beretta's Kiss I must have left my license at the Gun store and that I'd have to use my passport. Hurried back to the room, grabbed passport, slapped on a little more eau de toilette, put a new plaster over my wound and raced back to Pure. Pushed to the front again and the bouncers thankfully remembered us and through the braided rope we went. Pure's VIP guy met us, introduced himself and ushered us through. We were told that due to our late arrival we had been bumped up to the patio and I feared it would affect our evening.

I needn't have worried. The view from the patio was just fantastic, especially as we were positioned more at the end of the VIP area and the warmth from the heaters kept the chill at bay. We were overlooking the strip with Bally and Paris in full view and views towards the Venetian and Bellagio Lake. The VIP area on the patio was very special. Braided rope border, some fancy pit with open flame to provide additional warmth and our very own VIP waiters and security. We did feel a little like we were in a goldfish bowl at the beginning as there were lots of people on the main patio but only about three parties, including ourselves, in the VIP area. The bouncers also said that if there were any ladies that we liked the look of in the main club that we could invite them back into the VIP or they could go and request their company for us. I loved it and relaxing on those comfy sofas, looking at that fabulous view with a drink in hand and knowledge that we had our own table laden with mixers and more alcohol was wonderful and made the financial outlay for the privilege worthwhile. A friend and I headed downstairs at one point to have a look around. We saw some girls performing in the pussycat dolls lounge which was entertaining. At one point there were five scantily clad girls on the stage, one in an oversized champagne glass and two more swinging from fur lined swings suspended from the ceiling!

Jim, our chief security guy, was really great. Polite, professional, always smiling and a really nice guy to talk to. Holly Voss, not our waitress but I think the main one, was also amazing. Incredibly attractive, classy, friendly and with such a pretty face that I just had to tell her in a non arsehole, purely complimentary way. She then astonished me by starting to talk to me, admitting to liking my accent and even asked for my email address. I think to be fair she was being typically American and just very friendly but someone looking as good as that doesn't normally just come out and say they want to talk to me so I confess to being quite bowled over. I did tell her that I thought her name was false though as I couldn't imagine such a pretty woman being paired with a name that sounded like it belonged in a James Bond film. For the remainder of the evening I addressed her as Sharon Brown and we'd laugh together when she walked past and would pull a typical waitress 'drop the hip, hand on waist' pose. She gave me her business card which had her email address on it but then seemed to cool towards me as the evening progressed. It was a shame but being able to chat to a grade A stunner whilst in the VIP area of an amazing club felt damn good and I was grateful.

It was still great up there though and with the 2 one litre bottles of vodka disappearing down our necks our mood was all good. I felt brilliant even to the point of telling a very good looking woman, who arrogantly knew she was, that she had a lovely face but quite possibly the biggest big toe I'd ever seen and maybe open toed sandals weren't the best thing. She knew I was being cheeky and non malicious but it did make her laugh and that was the point of it I guess. The people that I met that night seemed so friendly and approachable whether it was Jim, the guys working in the toilet or a host of others who came into the VIP area that I was finding the whole American nightclubbing experience incredibly addictive. To this end I must also add that I wasn't acting all arrogant and pretentious for being in VIP area, so please don't think of that me. I know my roots and was just keen to be feeling special for once. Unfortunately upstairs had to close at 4.00 am and we took up station on the dance floor downstairs for the last 45 mins. I seemed to be flying now and was chatting to everyone and managed to learn the two best names in the club. Von for a guy, who was this black bouncer, what a wicked name and Cheyenne for a girl who was dancing on the dance floor. What cracking names. We ended up leaving the club when the whole thing chucked out and looking back now I wish we had gone on somewhere else. I was pumped to the max, still had plenty of chewing gum left and was in a talkative mood. Tiredness was beginning to kick in though and we retired to one of the Bellagio bars for a couple of late night glasses of baileys. I foolishly, and probably drunkenly, ripped up Holly's card wanting to protect myself from making an idiot of myself in emailing her when I got back home but maybe this wasn't one of my best decisions. Headed up to my room and hit the sack at around 6.00ish.

Saturday

Got up at 8.30 feeling a little tired but a good blast in the shower brought me back. I had a busy day, it being the last full one and I couldn't afford to hang around. Dressed and out to nip down to the gun store (I'd phoned ahead to check they had my license) to collect it before asking the cab to then run me on to the fashion show mall. Wandered around picking up some jeans and t-shirts for myself and relatives then popped over to the Wynn to grab some dollar chips for folks back at home before walking back to the hotel. The weather was great, warm and sunny but not too hot. Dropped my things in my room and met two of my crew in the foyer. We walked down to the boardwalk hotel to be picked up and taken to jean airport for a tandem freefall parachute jump that we were doing with Vegas extreme skydiving.

I was in good spirits, not really nervous despite the forms we had to fill in and the blunt, but necessary, warnings that we could die doing this and there was no insurance cover. Yeah whatever I thought. I had some good verbal tussles with the driver and was labeled the trouble maker but it was good natured banter and maybe took some of the other people's minds off what was coming. Arrived at the centre which was run by Dale, an ex royal marine. A nice guy but I think he was a little stressed with being let down by others and his military abruptness came out a little. He was somebody I would love to have talked to in more detail. Put on my jumpsuit which I loved. It was quite snug, pulling in at all the right places and I wouldn't have minded wearing it under my clothes if I went out that night! We had to wait for a couple of hours while others had their jumps etc but I was ok with this. As the jump drew nearer they put me in the harness, which I might add also looked wicked and made me feel like a fighter pilot (I told you I get excited about small things) and was introduced to my tandem jumper, Frank. What a great guy he was and I was keen to talk to him as I wanted him to understand how much I had been looking forward to this. I love sharing things with people and although I know that he had done this a million times before I wanted him to know that it was special to me and the reasons why. We went through the basic maneuvers and then Frank and I and Neil (the other guy from my party that I was doing this with) and Jim walked out to the plane. We hopped in and took up our position for the flight.

Frank and I were going to be the first ones out which pleased me and thus we were closer to the open door. I watch fascinated and at close hand as we took off and slowly made our ascent. It was so cool just looking through the door at the world below, particularly as the sun was setting and it was going to be their last jump of the day. We continued climbing which was fine by me as I wanted the maximum height for the maximum freefall. As we got closer to the jump point Frank would lean through the opening and check our relativity to the drop zone. To be honest this was the only time I felt unnerved. I didn't mind the idea of jumping but didn't fancy the idea of tumbling out whilst just looking over the edge. Frank was a great guy and my total confidence in him removed any thoughts of fear or worry that I might die. We got to the point and shimmied over to the open edge. Frank positioned himself on the lip of the plane with me in his lap. My feet were tucked right back so they were under the fuselage and touching the skin of the plane. My hands were folded over my chest and my head right back into his shoulder. I think he said something and then . . .

Whoosh we were out of the plane and falling towards the ground at a fast rate of knots. I thought my mind might turn to mush but he tapped me on the shoulder and I extended my arms as I'd been told. Man what a rush. The wind was just racing past my ears yet the ground didn't seem to be approaching. We were over a road and my eyes became fixed on this white lorry trundling along the road. It seemed so surreal that this lorry was just ordinarily driving along the road yet I was extra-ordinarily racing down through the sky towards it. At one point Frank dropped his shoulder and we seemed to race down in a swoop which was amazing. Then just as suddenly the parachute opened, my nuts were rammed up through my stomach and the roar was immediately replaced by an amazingly peaceful silence.

Frank calmly asked me what I thought and it was all I could do to stumble together a few words like amazing and incredible. It was so wonderful to look down at my feet as a point of reference and then see the ground a further 2,500 ft below them. We took our time coming down with a couple of fast spins just for fun. Frank had to unclip the two lower clasps before we could land to allow me to lift my feet up and this was a little unnerving. From taking an age to arrive suddenly the gravel drop zone came racing up and we slid in on our arses. I just sat there, awed by what I'd just done while my ears literally seemed to gurgle as the pressures within or whatever fought to rebalance themselves. Frank pulled me up and I threw my arms around Neil who had landed just before me. It was great to have had someone else to share it with. The van pulled up to take us back and I admit to being quite muted on the way back to the airport. We got out of our flight suits and signed the visitor's book. I could only think of one word to say amazing but then as I walked away more words came jumbling out which I attempted to put down. I shook hands again with Frank and thanked him for everything. I gave him a $50 tip but I wasn't sure what the going rate was and to be fair was still in a bit of a daze. The journey back to the hotel was quite somber as I was reflecting on and replaying what had happened as well as trying to rebalance my ears which were acting a little funny. Chatted to a lovely couple on the way back who were also staying at the Bellagio but were off to see the UFC fight at the MGM grand.

We had booked Penn & Teller for that evening and also had to get some grub in before then, especially as I hadn't eaten all day. Booked a table for 8 of us at 7.00pm at Morton's steakhouse and jumped in the shower. I blew my nose when I came out and then had the mother of all nose bleeds. I don't know if my blood pressure was all over the place but this just wouldn't stop despite tipping my head back, pinching my nose etc. During this I was trying to wash my teeth, apply wax to my hair, scent up and get dressed without any spillages. Eventually it stopped after about 25 minutes but I still had to walk down to the foyer dabbing my nose in case of leakage, how attractive! Got 2 cabs over to Morton's and what a great place this was. Old world charm, nice atmosphere, felt a bit gangster but in a nice way. Our waiter was truly superb and offered some of the best service I've ever experienced. He was funny and understanding, showed us all the different kinds of steak we could have, talked about the other ingredients and vegetables used and offered advice on how many side dishes we should get so we didn't go over. We also ordered two of their famous hot chocolate sponges as you had to get the orders in early. The main course arrived (we skipped starters due to time constraints) and we tucked into to a number of huge, tasty and succulent steaks. I also had creamed spinach, mushrooms and lyonnaise potatoes which were all very nice indeed. Time was running out and we requested the bill and considered leaving the dessert until it arrived. Oh golly, this was good. Hot chocolate sponge exterior with warm chocolate sauce oozing out when your spoon punctured it. All this on a crisp biscuit base and a scoop of haagen daaz vanilla ice cream. We might have been stuffed but many of us found the room for it within us. Paid the bill which wasn't bad, about $70 each including tip, and all of us agreed that it was the best meal we had eaten in Las Vegas. I deliberately stopped the waiter and told him how impressed I was with his service and how I'd never met a waiter who was more informative about his food or passionate about his guests having a nice, filling meal. The restaurant had called us two cabs and we blasted over to the Rio.

I'd said to our driver that we needed to get to the Rio for 9.00 and as it was 8.52, he pulled out some crazy stuff including turning right when greeted by a set of red traffic lights and then driving through a car park and popping out ahead of the aforementioned lights. It was like some kind of getaway driving and hugely entertaining. He even had time to show us en route a portfolio of girls at a gentleman's club that he knew and promised he could get us into. His description of the girls and the proximity to which you could get to them was pretty graphic and almost put me off the thought of women for about an hour or so. He got us there on time and we raced through the casino and hotel to the theatre, which typically when running late, was right at the very back of the hotel. Everyone had gone in and Penn & Tyler had just come on as we settled into our seats. I've got to say that they were very good to begin with. The tall one did a witty monologue about his smashed bottle juggling routine but then the show did become very talky and a little bogged down. I know they pride themselves about not doing a Vegas style show but I think it could have done with some flashes and bangs to keep me more awake.

After the huge meal, adrenaline comedown after the jump, the darkened theatre and lack of on stage action I do confess to dozing off for about 20 minutes and missed the end of the show. Left the show and had a quick drink in the casino before cabbing it back to the Bellagio. A couple of the party rained off for the night. One of the party crew was asleep in bed and Matt was feeling the effects of a bad cold and we had the frustrating do we really go to town and have a final bender or play it safe dilemma. I was up for going mad, though was beginning to feel a little drained, but didn't want to force my wishes on others. My room mate and I seemed to mooch around and skirt the issue of going silly, trying to get into Light or heading over to the Empire Ballroom but we couldn't seem to get going. Whilst he settled down for some gambling with two others I went for a meander and wandered round Caesars before heading up strip to take a look at the Venetian. Discovered the karaoke at the imperial palace which frustratingly was what I wish we had gone to on the Thursday. Right on the strip, with a bona fide room for it, a little stage, an appreciative audience and a bar, damn it! Wandered around a little more and as it had got to three and it seemed nothing was going to happen decided to retire for the night. It was a poor end to my time in Vegas but I wasn't prepared to go to a club on my own and I was feeling the first strains of tiredness.

Sunday

Up at 8.30 and started packing the case, quick shower and popped to the Caesars and Bellagio shops for some final bits and pieces and then seemed to just mull around while we waited to check out. Made the classic error just as I left the room in noticing for the first time all the sweets and savories on top of the mini bar and then picked up the cashews to show my room mate. 'Hey look, Bellagio cashew nuts' I said just as the machine clicked and charged the room. Nice work, though I did at least get some Bellagio nuts, to go with the slippers which are about four sizes too small. We checked out, keeping the door key card for posterity. It's now nicely positioned in my wallet waiting for someone to comment on it! We waited at the taxi rank which was immense and would you believe it but the fountain show started up and 'Time to say goodbye' came on over the speakers again. Wow she greeted us and waved us away. To avoid waiting we crammed eight people and our luggage into a stretch limo with the bulging boot tethered down and drove to the airport. Checked in but with three hours to the flight time I wasn't done with Vegas so grabbed a cab back to the strip. Popped into the Adidas store which was just up from the MGM and grabbed a few tops before walking to the In'n'Out burger. I just had to get my one last fix. Double, double again with the guy behind the counter wanting me to quote him a line from Wallace and Gromit in my English accent. Got myself a soft drink and only then noticed the fact that you could refill as many times as you wanted. How great but the real coup de grace was not the free ice on tap but the little plastic pot of sliced lemons, how civilized. I love a slice of lemon with my coke and enjoyed it immensely with my burger and fries. Grabbed another Neapolitan to enjoy on the walk back to the strip where I hoped to get a cab to the airport and lo and behold managed to grab one which was stopped at the traffic lights. Made the flight with plenty of time and it was pretty uneventful. Didn't get any sleep on it, watched The Fantastic Four, which I've seen before but enjoyed, landed at 11.30 and straight back into the office, though the afternoon wasn't the hardest that we've ever had. Came down with a bad cold, caused mainly due to being run down but managed to get some major shut eye this weekend and am coming through the other side. Getting a cold though is a worthy price to pay though for living the dream in Vegas.

Well I hope that hasn't been too boring for those who braved managing to read it all the way through. I wish I could say there was a prize for battling through it but there isn't I'm afraid bar that of being able to witness Vegas through the eyes of an average, excitable English male.

For my sins I just wanted a good and detailed account of the trip written down when it was all still so fresh in my mind and also so I could email it to friends and family so they could, if interested, get a real taste of Vegas.

Highs for me.

Bellagio and the accommodation
The Pool and Jacuzzi at the Bellagio
In 'n' out Burger
Gun store
Stratosphere view
Manilow
VIP @ Pure (thanks again Vegas VIP)
Freefall jump
Morton's steakhouse

Thanks again and I hope it made some of you smile.

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Las Vegas at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Grand Canyon tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and Ethel-M Chocolate Factory Tour

2006-02-20T20:47:00.000-08:00

My wife and I signed up for the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and Ethel-M Chocolate Factory Tour before we left for Las Vegas. I shopped around several websites for the same tour searching for the best price. The day of the tour they picked us up outside of our hotel (The Orleans) and shuttled us north to their central bussing area where people got on their specific tours (some went flying, etc.) Our tour guide was very nice and knowledgeable about the surrounding area. He was funny and kept us entertained while traveling to our destinations, his main feature was showing us a lot of current/previous houses of superstars such as Tiger Woods, Sly Stallone, Arnold S, previous Elvis, previous rat packers etc.

The first stop on the tour was the Ethel-M Chocolate Factory which included a very short tour in their facility followed by a chocolate sample (which was great), after declining to buy the outrageously priced chocolates we went outside to walk along the cactus gardens they have.

Next stop was the main attraction, Hoover Dam. We drove across the Arizona border and saw the pill box above the dam (4 were built in WWII). Entering the dam they take your picture with a dam background and inside you can pay for the guided tour. It started off with a movie about the dam and then you go down to where you can see the turbines. They then take you to the top of the visitor area and they give the last speech. After that we were free to walk across the dam but we chose to listen to a talk about the history of the river, the reasons for the dam, and other dams on the river. We ended up buying the pictures which came out well.

The final stop was an overlook of Lake Mead where we took pictures, followed by a buffet at the nearest casino. It was a so-so buffet, but considering it was included in the cost of the tour I can't complain. Finally the bus drops everyone off at their hotel, luckily for us the Orleans was first.

This tour was great for tourists who want to see the dam and want to hear history of the city. It took away the hassle of trying to get directions myself and enjoy seeing the city from the outside.

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Hoover Dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

My wife and I took our 3 children to Hoover Dam en route from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon

2006-01-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

I'm surprised from recent reviews about just what people were thinking when they visited Hoover Dam. My wife and I took our 3 children to Hoover Dam en route from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon in August 2005. At no time did we expect it to be other than a visit to a major engineering achievement. It is not Disney Land or Universal Studios and if you want that don't bother visiting. We felt the film to start off the tour was helpful and gave our children a good idea of what happened in its construction. The lift to the bottom where we listened to the tour guide and took our photos of the generators etc was good. The viewing gallery before you go out to the separate museum area was a good viewpoint. We did not spend more than 2 hours in total at Hoover Dam but left with lots of great pictures and a realisation of how significant its construction was - nothing else.

We took advantage of the posed photo by a backdrop before we went in and had refreshments in the cafe but enjoyed the visit for what it is.
I would recommend you visit but only do so if you appreciate what it can offer and it will not then disappoint.

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for The Hoover Dam at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Hoover Dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

I took the tour and it was more interesting than I expected

2006-01-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

I took the tour and it was more interesting than I expected. Great views from the outdoor observation deck which you get access to if you take the tour. I must say that I did expect the tour to show a little more of the dam interior. But the admission price for the tour was still worth it.

I've seen Hoover Dam in pictures a hundred times but nothing prepared me for the immense size

2006-01-14T22:38:00.000-08:00

I've seen Hoover Dam in pictures a hundred times but nothing prepared me for the immense size of this engineering marvel. If you've never been there before, do yourself a favor- shell out the money for the semi-self-guided tour. While it consists of a few stops that aren't too far from the ones you can visit by walking around the area of the dam on your own, it does include a short presentation on the history of the dam, a longer one outlining the benefits of the dam project and a trip down to one of the generator rooms. that latter of which is mind-boggling because of the sheer immensity of it all. Equally mind-boggling is the thought of the giant dam turning a deep river bed into an enormous lake that is something like 500' deep.

If you are like me and have a thing for architecture and engineering (or just natural beauty), don't miss out on this. Its only forty or so minutes outside of Vegas (maybe a little longer if you hit some traffic as you drive down the mountain to the dam) but worth every mile and every dollar.

Zion National Park

We wanted to go to the Grand Canyon but ten hours of driving made that a tough accomplishment during the course of a single day. Instead we drove 2.5 hours north on Interstate 15, past a ton of gorgeous natural scenery, to what is probably the most breathtaking thing my eyes ever encountered- Zion National Park. For just $20 (per vehicle), you are free to spend the day driving around, taking pictures and hiking along miles and miles of winding paths. Needless to say it was well worth it.

I'm not big on nature stuff but I found Zion to be amazing, bordering on surreal. Words or pictures can't do the place justice and if you're ever in the Vegas area with some time to kill, I highly suggest visiting what can best be described as a national treaure. For something natural to leave my jaw on the floor is certainly saying something.

Red Rock Canyon

Located about twenty minutes to the west of Vegas, Red Rock Canyon isn't nearly as impressive as Zion but it's still a sight to behold. As is the case with Zion, you drive into the park and are free to admire the scenery and hike on trails once inside. Red Rock even allows you to climb the "red rocks" for some pretty interesting photo ops! The only thing different is the fact that Red Rock features a single, one-way road through the park while Zion features a tangle of two-way roads that branch out and give you access to many areas of the park. Not ones to hike, we just drove the 13-mile loop to make the occasional stop to admire the views and snap a few pictures. It's a weird feeling to be so close to Las Vegas but so far away from it at the same time. Places like Red Rock make me wish that I were into hiking as many of the trails looked like a lot of fun.

While Las Vegas lacks a traditional theme park (how's that for a paradox?), many of the casino resorts along the Strip can be considered theme parks without the coasters. With a variety of restaurants, shows and exquisite décor, places like Bellagio, Mirage and Venetian feel like adult-oriented Disney attractions!

The Bellagio

Bellagio left me in awe just as Hoover Dam and Zion did, but for entirely different reasons. Walking through the building, you can't help but feel as though you hit the lottery. The entire thing is so big, so ornate and so overwrought that I couldn't help but stand there with my eyes popping out of my head. Incredibly detailed tile floors, a botanical conservatory & garden (with a stunning fall harvest-style overlay) and a huge collection of blown glass flowers on the ceiling make the place feel more like a palace than an attraction for the common tourist. And the Fountains of Bellagio show outside is every bit as impressive as people say it is. Since all of these things are free, there's really no excuse to pass them by. Nothing says Vegas better than beautiful excess!

Mirage

The Fountains of Bellagio show seems to get the lion's share of attention on the Strip but Mirage's Volcano is equally impressive. Sitting in the middle of a lagoon surrounded by lush vegetation, the 54' volcano shoots smoke and flames into the air while fire covers the surface of the water. And if you venture inside of the resort, you'll find an aquarium behind the reception desk, a domed rainforest and one of Siegfried & Roy's tigers on display. Get there earlier in the day (meaning: not after 5:00) and you can check out Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. We missed both but will be checking them out next time.

Treasure Island

I had heard many things about the Treasure Island, err. TI show. TI was hyping their revised performance, now called "Sirens of TI" and it seemed like a safe bet- 45 minutes before the show was about to begin, the sidewalk viewing area was already packed with onlookers. It had to be good, right?

Not really.

I'm not at all familiar with the premise of the show's previous incarnation but I can imagine that it was a battle between two pirate ships that results in one of them sinking into the lagoon. There are still two pirate ships in this "new" show but one of the ships is filled with sirens that seduce the pirates into coming over with strip club-quality pole dancing so they can attack their ship and steal their "treasure" (I use the term loosely because the "treasure" seems very ill-defined, given the theme of the show). I can understand the cannon fire and the subsequent sinking of the pirate's ship by the sirens, but what I don't get is why the pirates climb aboard the sirens' ship afterwards and everyone breaks into a dance. It's as if the old family-oriented show was deemed too childish for TI's new adults-only demographic but didn't want to spend money on a new presentation so they left the old effects and placed on top of it something that feels like a cross between a Britney Spears music video and Pirates of the Caribbean. What could have been a high-quality action-filled showdown on the high seas was instead an amateurish pile of pop culture crap that deserves to get tossed on the pile of boardroom-contrived embarrassments that includes Nick & Jessica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Clay Aiken.

Mandalay Bay

An upscale mega-casino & resort that tries to trump Bellagio's opulence but instead winds up feeling just a bit cold and stuffy for my tastes. The main reason we went here was Shark Reef, which sounded like a miniature Sea World-style attraction. It included a few aquariums but the main attraction was clearly the sunken ship and acrylic tube that gives you excellent views of all different types of sharks. A nice attraction but pretty short for the $16 admission. Then again, compared to the two-minute flurry of pain that is called Manhattan Express (BPOS), it sounds kinda cheap.

Fremont Street Experience

Take old Vegas with its walls and walls of tacky neon lights, put a huge canopy over it that doubles as a huge screening surface (Viva Vision) and you have an attraction within an attraction that can't be missed. Every hour on the hour, a spectacular light show takes place on the canopy that eclipses just about anything that catches your eye on the Strip. While the canopy makes "old Vegas" feel a little more like a museum and less like the lively place that Elvis and Wayne Newton made popular, I can appreciate the fact that this section of town was preserved instead of bulldozed. I'm not sure I like the idea of an old amusement park being preserved in the same manner but here, it seems to work.

I have heard people make fun of Hoover Dam

2006-01-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

Overview: I have heard people make fun of Hoover Dam, saying that it's nothing but a wall. They say that it's just a cement block and nothing special. Or they say that it's not worth all the hype, and that it's not worth visiting. There's nothing to do, and nothing to see. Well They are wrong.

Why?
I think they are wrong because there is a lot to see. Hoover Dam is huge, and standing at the precipice, simply astounds me. I find myself dumbfounded, and slightly intimidated.

Ok, Now What?
While just looking over a intimidating drop doesn't seem like much(you can do that at the Grand Canyon), you might be asking what's next? Well, there is the tour of Hoover. They take you through the tunnels, as a tour guide rattles on about the history and important facts. Then the tour guide takes you through the power generators, and eventually out to the bottom of the dam. A well worth the money little trip, that's fun and educational.

Anything you left out?
Well the bus drivers for the transportation buses, act like tour guides, if you need to be shuttled somewhere. They'll make jokes as they tell you about other parts of history about Hoover. For instance, how many people died making it, how long it took to build, and other needless little tidbits.

So I should Visit?

Yes, you should definitely visit. If anything just to see a national land mark, that has become a legend in it's own right. No matter what you come for though, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy the tour, and the visit.

Hoover Dam: The Best Dam Tour I've Been On!

2006-01-08T21:53:00.000-08:00

The whole Hoover Dam experience begins with you waiting in a long line to purchase tickets. After you purchase tickets, you wait for a little bit, and then you go into a theater to watch a movie about the Hoover Dam. The movie is very cool. It talks about the history of the Hoover Dam--how it was built, when it was built, why it was built...etc. Then after you finish watching the movie, you wait in a line to go on your tour.

The tour is very fun and informative. You get to go through the actual powerplant, and you go through the inside of the dam, and finally, you go to the very bottom of the dam. The tour guide I had when I went there was very funny, most of the tour guides are. If you've ever seen the tour guide from the movie Vegas Vacation, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Word of the Wise: Don't go to Hoover Dam during the summer. It gets very crowded and HOT! If you do go during the summer, I recommend going on a weekday, and be prepared for hot weather. At the bottom of the dam, it gets at least 20 degrees hotter than it is at the top of the dam. Suntan lotion, sunglasses, and a hat are highly recommended for the summer months!

Hoover Dam - A National Historic Landmark

2006-01-08T21:39:00.000-08:00

Pea soup. It's what i remember most about the hoover dam from my visit. not "actual" pea soup, you understand, but the colour of the colorado river behind the dam. apparently they've had a lot of algae this year, and with the algae living near the top of the water, and the intake towers emptying water from the bottom, it's got a bit concentrated. concentrated to the point where the water is completely opaque, and very, very green.

Anyway. the dam. it brought work to thousands during the depression, it prevents flooding on valuable agricultural land downstream, it supplies electricity to arizona, california and nevada (someone has to power all those slot machines!), and it's a damn (sorry) good stop for tourists.

Approaching the dam from the east, there's not much to see. just road and rocks, like almost everything else in arizona. then you hit the edge of the canyon, and begin to zigzag down to the level of the top of the dam, and you think... it doesn't look *that* big. you see, the top is only 45 feet wide, and somehow the jam of cars and lorries crawling across it (up to 20,000 a day apparently) makes it look even smaller. (this traffic can also lead to large delays in summer, of up to an hour or more.) then you notice the drop on the far side, and although you can't see it all, you do notice the size then. in fact, the dam is 726 feet high (about 60 storeys) - perhaps it's just as well you don't get the full effect straight away!

On the nevada side is the whole visitor centre and car park complex. the tourist experience starts here, and that means you have to pay. parking is $3, although you do get to park in the shade, in a multistorey car park built back into the canyon walls. it's still not cool, but at least you don't leave the car in the sun. don't forget your hat, sunglasses, suncream, water bottle (it was 110 degrees fahrenheit when i went in late may) and camera. you can take a bag, but you will have it X-rayed (like at the airport) on entrance. Cameras are no problem, as long as they are for private use.

Entrance fees vary according to what you want to do (no, really). They range from $4 for exhibits only (a bit dull), to $25 for the full "Hard Hat Tour" - full details can easily be found on the website linked from this category. My friends and I went for the whole shebang - a Hard Hat Tour, to take us into the depths of the dam and get the works on, well, the works. These are timed tickets, however, so you may have some time to kill before your slot. Also, make sure your whole group orders their tickets together - you can pay separately, but order together to make sure you get on the same tour. Cheaper, shorter tours are available - these are non-timed, in much larger groups, and you don't get a hard hat to keep!

Killing time is done by checking out the exhibitions. These comprise: an interesting 20(ish) minute film on the construction of the dam, some information boards on the same subject, and more information on where the water goes, who uses the most, and also recreation opportunities around Lake Mead (formed by the dam and stretching 110 miles upstream, it holds enough water to flood New York state to a depth of 1 foot). There's a viewing platform, where you can be frazzled by the sun as it bounces off the concrete, and get a little dizzy looking down to the boiling turbulence of the exiting water. Overall, there's nothing amazingly whizzy or interactive, and you may well get rather bored if you have a long wait for your tour. If you want a drink, snack, or souvenir, you'll find them up by the car park, which means going out of the secure area, and queueing again for security and to show your tickets.

So, you've waited and waited... time for the tour. Everyone's feeling a little silly in their regulation blue hard hat, but there are no exceptions! Also, you are recommended at several points not to wear open shoes, but I did the tour in sandals and found no difficulties. Apart from a few steps, there is nothing I saw that made me think about my footwear, although I would certainly not recommend heels! The steps and confined spaces also make the tour inaccessible to wheelchair users. The final safety point is that you're given some gorgeous foam earplugs - ours were an attractive shade of green, and I'm sad to say I saved them and re-used them on the plane home (they worked very well actually!). You only need to wear them at one place on the tour, though.

The guides range from old guys who look like they helped build the thing through to young whippersnappers. Several of them are bilingual - our guide also spoke Spanish, according to his badge. The tour lasts about an hour, and involves a reasonable amount of walking, but not too much. You get to see the turbine halls, the turbines themselves (hence earplugs), some of the tunnels in the rock, and even walk down a ventilation shaft to look out of the face of the dam itself (pretty amazing). I found it fascinating - I was amazed by the sheer scale of everything, and tried (and failed) to remember all the information that was thrown at us, but it gave me a good feel for how the whole thing works.

The tour was accompanied by a running commentary full of facts and figures, trivia (like the dam's appearance in films such as National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation), the odd bad joke or two, and even a couple of pop quizzes! Children under seven aren't allowed on the tour, but the commentary is pitched at a level suitable for older children, so they shouldn't get too bored. I'm not sure it's "cool" enough for a lot of kids to enjoy, though.

The fact that NO-ONE is entombed in the concrete of the dam was heavily stressed to us, and having seen the information film, you understand - the maximum loads of concrete that the cranes could lift at that time were not enough to bury a man, being only 5" deep when spread over the block being worked on. Would you lie there and wait for five more loads of concrete?! Ninety-six men did die, however (mostly from being hit by falling rock), and coincidentally, the last man to die was the son of the first.

The final lift journey is *very* squished as it uses an original tourist lift, whereas the trip down is in a newer, smoother-riding one. For this reason, as well as the journey through some relatively small tunnels and into the turbine room, I would not recommend the tour to anyone not fond of small spaces (or lifts!). Once at the top, you're disgorged onto the pavement on top of the dam, and left to run the gauntlet of traffic to get back to the car park.

A quick word about the facilities. The toilets were clean, although not spotless, and there were plenty of water fountains around. The cafe was nothing to write home about, selling the usual food (burgers, hot dogs, nachos, fizzy drinks) at the usual tourist prices. The souvenir shop is fairly large, and seemed to have a good selection of the usual tack, from postcards to t-shirts, and any souvenir gimmick that they could write " Hoover Dam tour", "Nevada" or "Arizona" on. About average, I'd say.

And that about sums it up. The facts and figures sprinkled in this review are from the excellent website, which I thoroughtly recommend looking at before you visit, if only for the information on prices etc. There's nothing about pea soup though.

Laugh your way to Hoover Dam

2005-06-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

Why not do the Hoover Dam with a better lunch than the Hacienda and with a Comic on the bus? We booked the Ultimate Double Decker Bus Comedy Tour through Paradise Found Tours. Unlike most Hoover Dam Tours, they provide both a friendly driver and a professional comedian guide! Double up in laughter as their comedian/guide keeps you amused! Discover enlightening historical facts about Las Vegas and Hoover Dam, presented in a lighthearted, descriptive fashion.

There's no need to worry as your driver zooms down the freeway at 60 mph while holding the microphone recanting boring facts because their drivers do not double as guides. Your guide (a headlining comedian from here in town) will treat you to a fun morning, making the 45-minute trip seem like seconds. Relive parts of your youth as you don fun disguises for your trip at the government inspection station. their guides aren't just fun they are also highly informative and will enlighten you to history of this magnificent structure.

Once at the dam, you'll be treated to their signature tour "Walk the Top", a fully guided walking tour over Hoover Dam. Their guides aren't just fun they are also highly informative and will enlighten you to history of this magnificent structure. Your guide will walk over the giant Arizona Spillway (large enough o float the largest battleship). The Bureau of Reclamations Discovery Tour is next. Here youll travel 500 down into the canyon wall to see the nine massive generators on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam. Youll also be able to take pictures from the visitors center overlook and view the exhibits. You may want to visit the gift shop before boarding the bus and heading off to enjoy a breathtaking Lake Mead scenic photo stop. The water here is some of the bluest youll ever see.

While here you may want to just take in the peaceful surroundings or laugh as the dozens of Antelope squirrel scamper around the area. For the adventurous, this stop also includes a stinktheyed demonstration. A morning outdoors is just what you need to work up an appetite. By now you should be ready for lunch and its a good thing because they have a delicious hot made to order lunch for you. Eat where Presidents, royalty and movie stars have, at the Historic Boulder Dam Hotel. No boring buffet here they make nearly everything themselves. It's time for the best 20 Minute movie you can see on Hoover Dam. It's all vintage footage of the actual construction. If you like knowledge and history you day is not over. After the movie you'll be able to check out the Boulder (Hoover) Dam Museum. Learn the history of discrimination during the construction or listen to the original 1935 switchboard where people who built the Dam tell their stories. No Hoover Dam tour would be complete without a tour of Boulder City (the historic town built for the dam workers). Find out why this is the only city in Nevada that does not have legalized gambling. It was built for the Dam workers and there is plenty to see and learn here. You will be amazed at the enormous size of one of the generators turbine engines (it shotheyd up defective and is now on display in central park).

You are going to see and learn about the famous dingbat houses built for the workers, the original Department of Reclamation and the historic Boulder (Hoover) Dam hotel. Beware this hotel is listed as #4 of Americas top 10 most haunted hotels. Next door to the hotel is Grandma Daisys homemade fudge shop, they cant leave town without sampling the stheyets here.

Speaking of stheyets their next stop is at the world famous Ethyl Ms Chocolate Factory (home of the Mars bar) and Botanical Gardens. Youll have 45 minutes here to take a walking tour, sample their candy, purchase some treats or take a walk in the garden. On the way back to Vegas, their professional comedian/guide provides intriguing facts on the Las Vegas Mafia, Howard Hughes and what has been dubbed the "biggest bloodless coup" in Las Vegas history!

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Hoover Dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Other valuable resources

Valuable Links:
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours
Hoover Dam Tours
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon

I would highly recommend a trip to the Hoover Dam

2005-06-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

If you are staying in Vegas then I would highly recommend a trip to the Hoover Dam visitors centre. The guided tour and museum are really interesting and the site itself is truely awesome - you just won't believe how big it is.

A tip to avoid the queues - get there when it opens (we drove, we didn't do an organised tour). We arrived as soon as it opened and on our tour there were only about 20 people. We spent a good few hours here and it did start to get busier towards lunchtime.

A visit to Boulder is also well worth it if you are in the area - it is a really pleasant little town for lunch or a stroll.

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Hoover Dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Other valuable resources

Valuable Links:
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours
Hoover Dam Tours
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon

Hoover Dam -Divided Over Dams

2005-06-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

The building of dams represents people's attempts to control and harness the
awesome power of nature. In this case, a rapidly running river. While few dispute
the ingenuity behind the design and construction of America's most famous dams,
Hoover among them, opinion is currently split as to whether dams are environmentally
and economically sound or harmful.

Strictly
speaking, the purpose behind a dam is to control the flow of water, usually
running through rivers. Proponents of dam building, such as the United
States Committee on Large Dams (USCOLD), "a nation-wide professional organization
dedicated to advancing the technology of dam engineering, construction,
and operation...," contend that dams are necessary because they provide
water for drinking, for industry, for irrigation, for fishing and recreation,
and for hydroelectric power production. Among the more than 2,000 hydroelectric
power dams in the U.S. are Hoover Dam, Bonneville Dam, Glen Canyon Dam,
and the Niagara Power Plant.

Dams, in the view of the USCOLD, also perform a crucial public service by reducing
or preventing floods. Recently, a report published by the Desert Research Institute,
credited a system of reservoirs created by dams along Nevada's upper Truckee
River with saving "the city of Reno from extreme disaster" during the January
1997 floods. The report contended that managed release of water from upstream
reservoirs, made possible by dams, prevented a "1000-year flood." The United
States Geological Society (USGS) further projected that without the upstream
reservoirs, Reno would have been inundated with an additional 52,600 acre-feet
of water. The USCOLD maintains that "flood control measures (made possible through
the use of dams) taken during the 20th century...will undoubtedly continue to
prevent or lessen the incidence of property damage and loss of lives due to floods."

When
it comes to the benefits of hydropower dams, the USCOLD is equally as enthusiastic.
In listing of benefits to society produced by dams, the USCOLD states that "dams
contribute significantly to reducing air pollution." The organization says
that "hydropower is the most plentiful and most efficient renewable energy
resource, contributing more than 90% of all renewable electric energy produced
in the United States." Drawing a comparison with thermal power plants,
the USCOLD claims that the modern hydropower plant exceeds 90% efficiency,
more than twice that of a thermal plant, and that the conventional installed
hydropower capacity in the U.S. is capable of producing over 300 billion
kilowatts annually. "To generate the equivalent amount of energy from a
fossil-fueled generating plant fired by oil, coal, or natural gas would
require 520 million barrels of oil, 129 million tons of coal, or 3.16 trillion
cubic feet of gas," notes an article in the July 1996 USCOLD Newsletter. The
article goes on to say that "if all the energy produced by hydropower were
instead produced by coal, pollutants from coal would increase by 16%."

Despite such impressive claims made by proponents of dams, environmental groups
have been speaking and acting out against the construction of new dams and have
recently succeeded in championing the taking down of existing dams. In 1997,
former Sierra Club president Adam Werbach proposed draining Arizona's 26,997,000
acre-feet Lake Powell, a reservoir created by the Glen Canyon Dam which is situated
on the Colorado River. Saying "it's time for an angioplasty," Werbach suggested
restoring the Colorado to its free-flowing state. The proposal was passed unanimously
by the Sierra Club's board. Environmentalists have long viewed the Glen Canyon
dam and the resulting Lake Powell (derisively called Lake Foul) as a prime example
of man's manipulation squelching nature's splendor. Mike Obmascik, an environmental
columnist and reporter for The Denver Post, asks rhetorically, "How could
anyone view towering spires, battalions of hoodoos, redrock amphitheaters--and
then drown them beneath 700 feet of water?" But Obmascik admits that Glen Canyon
is unlikely to go away any time soon. "The turbines at Glen Canyon Dam," he explained
in Outside magazine, "generate enough hydroelectricity to power a city
of 240,000." On top of that, Lake Powell is the destination of over 3.4 million
visitors each year.

For its part, the Sierra Club rejects the idea that dams are permanent fixtures.
They report a trend, disputed by groups such as USCOLD, that around the nation
dams "are falling like dominoes in the name of river restoration." They point
to the December 1997 removal of the Quaker Neck Dam on the Neuse River in North
Carolina and the demolition of the Western Canal Dam on a tributary of California's
Sacramento River a month earlier. Also in November 1997, the Federal Regulatory
Commission (FERC) ordered the removal of the Edwards Dam on Maine's Kennebec
River in an effort to restore fish habitats. The FERC decided that the small
amount of electricity generated by the dam did not justify the environmental
damage being caused by the dam. Environmentalists and sport fishermen welcomed
the prospect of returning salmon, shad, and other fish to 15 miles of the Kennebec.

When speaking of restoring a river, the Sierra Club maintains that with the elimination
of the Quaker Neck Dam, 75 miles of stream and 900 miles of tributaries to striped
bass, American shad, hickory shad, and short-nosed sturgeon were opened up. The
Club points to studies indicating that dams devastate fish runs and destroy fragile
ecosystems. The Sierra Club is not alone in this belief. American Rivers, a non-profit
organization dedicated to river conservation, lists seven "dam facts" on its
Web site. Among them: of the nearly 75,000 dams on rivers throughout the US,
only a fraction of them produce power. The group also claims that hydropower
accounts for only about 10% of the electricity generated in the U.S. In 1996,
American Rivers helped secure the experimental release of over 120 million gallons
of water from Glen Canyon Dam to restore "essential habitat" along the banks
of the Colorado River.

Groups in favor of removing dams and draining reservoirs contend that energy
deregulation and overall low electrical costs, caused in part by a worldwide
oil and natural gas glut, no longer make dams economically viable. They further
trumpet what they say are the benefits of more efficient natural gas turbines
and successful conservation efforts. USCOLD rejects this notion and points to
an overall world-wide increase in the number of dams being built, and
higher dams at that. Further, USCOLD contends that as human populations increase,
and the demand for water follows suit, the need for technically safe dams will
no doubt increase. The pro-dam group does concede though that these dams will
have to be "environmentally responsible and socially acceptable."

Whether dams rise or fall, one thing seems certain: they are no longer being
looked upon solely as monuments to man's control of nature. Now, they are expected
to also represent man's efforts to live in harmony with nature.

Sources: Outside Magazine, April '97; The Planet (Sierra
Club Newsletter), March '97; USCOLD Newletter, March '95, July '96, March
'98; The Associated Press via The Fort Collins Coloradian, April 17, 1998; "The
History of American Rivers," American Rivers Web site

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Hoover Dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Valuable Links:

Grand Canyon
Tours

Las Vegas
Tours

Hoover Dam
Tours

Las Vegas

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam And Las Vegas

2005-05-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

Going to the Grand Canyon was great. So was the Hoover Dam. A lot of people think that the Grand Canyon is just a "big hole in the earth" but it really is magnificent.

Walking the Strip and going to all of the casinos is fun. All casinos have different décor/themes that distinguish them from each other.

There are a lot of varied museums that you can see, depending on your interest. Being from NYC, I did not feel the need to go to another wax museum, but there are other things to do besides gamble. For instance, I really had more fun on the roller coasters than in the casinos.

Vegas is a dynamic place, it’s kind of like being in a make-believe land; anything you want is yours for the having (with the right amount of $$). If you’re thinking of going, you’re thinking too hard: just go!

Quick Tips/Suggestions:

The Strip is VERY big. I recommend a central hotel like the Flamingo, Harrah's, Bally's, Ceasar's, or Bellagio.

Food can be cheap but the cheaper it is, the worse it is. My advice is not to eat the $0.99 pound hotdog at Circus Circus. The Bellagio has a GREAT buffet. I recommend eating there.

It is best to stay at a hotel on the Strip. Many people don't realize how big the strip is. Staying off-strip can be a real pain.

Do yourself a favor... read the coupon books before going out. I really felt stupid paying 15 dollars for something when back at the hotel I had a coupon for 50% off.

Oh, and try not to spend all your money at the airport... there are slots right at the gate and they are NOT generous. Book any bus-tours before you leave on your trip. It's a LOT cheaper booked ahead of time.

Best Way to Get Around:

Walk or take the free monorails (one is between Bally’s and MGM Grand; the other runs from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay with a stop at Luxor). You can take a bus to the Freemont Street Experience and there are public buses available. There is also a strip-tram that runs cheaply. We found walking to be the easiest and must fulfilling way to see Vegas. If you are going to the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam, I'd take a tour bus. It was a looooong drive to the Canyon, and I was glad I was a passenger on a bus and not the driver. Don’t rent a car if you plan to stay on strip. It’s not worth it.

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Las Vegas at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Las Vegas tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Other valuable resources

Valuable Links: Grand Canyon Tours Las Vegas Tours Hoover Dam Tours Las Vegas Grand Canyon

Hoover Dam Tours

2005-05-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

Why not do the Hoover Dam with a better lunch than the Hacienda and with a Comic on the bus? We booked the Ultimate Double Decker Bus Comedy Tour through paradisefoundtours.com. Unlike most Hoover Dam Tours, they provide both a friendly driver and a professional comedian guide! Double up in laughter as their comedian/guide keeps you amused! Discover enlightening historical facts about Las Vegas and Hoover Dam, presented in a lighthearted, descriptive fashion.

There's no need to worry as your driver zooms down the freeway at 60 mph while holding the microphone recanting boring facts because their drivers do not double as guides. Your guide (a headlining comedian from here in town) will treat you to a fun morning, making the 45-minute trip seem like seconds. Relive parts of your youth as you don fun disguises for your trip at the government inspection station. their guides aren't just fun they are also highly informative and will enlighten you to history of this magnificent structure.

Once at the dam, you'll be treated to their signature tour "Walk the Top", a fully guided walking tour over Hoover Dam. Their guides aren't just fun they are also highly informative and will enlighten you to history of this magnificent structure. Your guide will walk over the giant Arizona Spillway (large enough o float the largest battleship). The Bureau of Reclamations Discovery Tour is next. Here youll travel 500 down into the canyon wall to see the nine massive generators on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam. Youll also be able to take pictures from the visitors center overlook and view the exhibits. You may want to visit the gift shop before boarding the bus and heading off to enjoy a breathtaking Lake Mead scenic photo stop. The water here is some of the bluest youll ever see.

While here you may want to just take in the peaceful surroundings or laugh as the dozens of Antelope squirrel scamper around the area. For the adventurous, this stop also includes a stinktheyed demonstration. A morning outdoors is just what you need to work up an appetite. By now you should be ready for lunch and its a good thing because they have a delicious hot made to order lunch for you. Eat where Presidents, royalty and movie stars have, at the Historic Boulder Dam Hotel. No boring buffet here they make nearly everything themselves. It's time for the best 20 Minute movie you can see on Hoover Dam. It's all vintage footage of the actual construction. If you like knowledge and history you day is not over. After the movie you'll be able to check out the Boulder (Hoover) Dam Museum. Learn the history of discrimination during the construction or listen to the original 1935 switchboard where people who built the Dam tell their stories. No Hoover Dam tour would be complete without a tour of Boulder City (the historic town built for the dam workers). Find out why this is the only city in Nevada that does not have legalized gambling. It was built for the Dam workers and there is plenty to see and learn here. You will be amazed at the enormous size of one of the generators turbine engines (it shotheyd up defective and is now on display in central park).

You are going to see and learn about the famous dingbat houses built for the workers, the original Department of Reclamation and the historic Boulder (Hoover) Dam hotel. Beware this hotel is listed as #4 of Americas top 10 most haunted hotels. Next door to the hotel is Grandma Daisys homemade fudge shop, they cant leave town without sampling the stheyets here.

Speaking of sweets their next stop is at the world famous Ethyl Ms Chocolate Factory (home of the Mars bar) and Botanical Gardens. Youll have 45 minutes here to take a walking tour, sample their candy, purchase some treats or take a walk in the garden. On the way back to Vegas, their professional comedian/guide provides intriguing facts on the Las Vegas Mafia, Howard Hughes and what has been dubbed the "biggest bloodless coup" in Las Vegas history!

For More Information

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam Tours at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Hoover Dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Other valuable resources

Valuable Links:
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours
Hoover Dam Tours
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon

Hoover Dam Left My Mouth Wide Open

2005-04-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

The Hoover Dam is one of those tourist destinations that will absolutely take your breath away. It is situated along the border of Nevada and Arizona and a perfect stop to make when making a trip from the Las Vegas Strip to the Grand Canyon ( which I did on my trip out there about two years ago ). Clocks located along the Hoover Dam show the actual border between the two states. Unfortunately, however, I was only able to stay there for a short amount of time so I did not get a chance to take a tour of the entire dam nor the lake but I was able to stop and get a chance to take an awe inspiring view of this majestic creation for a little while at least and it is something that I will never forget.

History of the Hoover Dam

Located along the border of Arizona and Nevada, it is a technological, man-made marvel which was constructed in the early part of the 20th century during the era of the Great Depression. Men were happy just to have a job so they risked their lives in order to have this most difficult of jobs. It was built in order to help control the wild Colorado River and its' construction help lead to much economic expansion in the area ( the area of Boulder City ) including eventually the gambling industry in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. Many men died during the process of building the Hoover Dam because of accidents. This man made edifice which took all told almost four years to build is a technological wonder even still today.

Scenery

It is really quite hard to put into words the views at the Hoover Dam. You look from atop the winding roads that run through the area and you are amazed that this was built by human man power. When I first approached the Hoover Dam, the traffic jams in the general vicinity made me feel like I was back in New York City for a little while! But as we viewed the actual dam, the wait was certainly worth it. Could not believe the size of the cylinder stoppers used to control and regulate the flow of water; they were tremendous and the amounts of water running through them were also staggering. Like I had said earlier, it is hard to describe you just have to see it to believe it.

The Hoover Dam is a once in a life time experience which absolutely must be seen to be believed!

For More Information

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam Tours at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for Hoover Dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Valuable Links:
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours
Hoover Dam Tours

Hoover Dam, Not Only Gargantuan, But Amazing!!

2005-04-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hoover Dam is a perfect stop on your drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon and vice versa. When you are standing on top of the dam and look all the way down at the channeled Colorado River, you will be dizzy. Although it is not the world's largest dam, the scariest part comes in with the fact. The dam has been built one year ahead of schedule and under budget BACK IN 1935 WITH NO SPECIAL EQUIPMENT. It was done by mechanical means and BY HAND!

The Journey

It is summer time again and you decide to take your wife for a road trip. After an exhausting drive you stop by Hoover Dam because your wife wants to see it. Your friends and family has been saying, "You gotta check out Hoover Dam! It is one of seven technological marvels man has ever created!" Frustrated and exhausted you say, "We must keep going on! We have a tight schedule. Why do we have to stop by? It's only a dam!" "Come on honey, do it for me. Please?:(" she says. When she is walking ahead of you, you grumble and say "Dammit! ):{"

It is 107 degrees. The sun bears down all its oven-like, dry radiating heat with no mercy. It's so hot that you decide to slow down to conserve your own energy. The sidewalk, under your shoes, are radiating heat. The wall, which prevents you from walking over the dam also radiates heat at you. No matter what, you can't run and you can't hide. 300 meters from where you parked your car, your wife says, "Honey look at this!" She is at the edge of the dam and points down. You are 500 hundred feet above the narrow portion of the Colorado River and you become dizzy. Super smooth yellow-white concrete covers your peripheral vision. A constant gust of 30 mile per hour wind blows nothing but hot air as if you cranked up your car's heater at full blast! The concrete is built in a steep fashion. However, you sense that it is like a smooth and steep "slide." "I wonder if someone ever committed suicide here?" you say.

You face back to look at the blue and prodigious beauty of Lake Mead. Small grasshopper sized white boats cruise along as if they moved inch by inch. Then you look at your left. There is an intake tower and a huge clock marked, "Nevada time." To your right you see another tower and a clock marked, "Arizona time." You are confused realizing that Arizona and Nevada are both west regions of the U.S. You ask yourself 'Why are there two clocks?' To answer this question, Arizona do not observe day light savings time. If it is 1pm in Nevada, it is 12pm in Arizona. During winter, it would be 12pm on both clocks.

Your wife wants to go on a tour. "Here we go again!" you say with a sigh. After you wait an hour to get the tickets, you and your wife decide to get some water. After all you are getting dehydrated from staying out too long during a heat wave. You and your wife decide to check out the museum. The place is mobbed with tourists all over the world. It is hard to see the showcase for groups of tourists are reading 48 font articles and looking at pictures of the dam's construction 2 feet away.

You and your wife decides to go to a "mini theater" with stadium seating. A film projector shows a 22 minute video of the dam's construction from start to end. You learn that the dam's location had to be moved to its present location(where you are at). Then you learn that the dam was previously named, Boulder dam. When you watch the black and white video, you see a souped up model T carrying 50-60 people as if it was a double decker bus, in London. You also see "cable cars" transporting construction workers from one side of the dam to the other. In addition, you see cranes holding a huge 6 foot bucket and releasing all the cement. The rumor of people being buried in cement is false. However, you learn that most death has occurred as a result of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. What is amazing is you see a huge 160 ton penstar(An aperture of the diversion tunnel) being towed by a bulldozer with a trailer 18 WHEELS.

You now realize that this is no ordinary dam, it is special. Special like your old high school science project that rewarded you a gold medal. Likewise, this dam(you are at) has been mankind's greatest achievement besides the Titanic.

It's about time you and your wife go for the tour. The guide introduces him/herself as usual and you ride an elevator all the way down where your eyes met the "small" Colorado river an hour ago. You are now looking at over 12 green shiny generators. They are like oil containers in an oil refinery and make a steady constant hum like a giant refrigerator. You learn that the purpose of the dam is to create electricity and to use the profits to pay back the interest of the $175 million construction cost. (It would cost $1 billion now). You go outside and you look all the way up to see people small as ants and the clear blue sky above it. The guide says that millions of pounds of pressure are being applied behind the yellow concrete. The guide also mentions that the dam is made of 6'X 6'X 6' cube of cements. Like Legos, the cube of cements created the dam holding the immense pressure of the man made lake Mead. You look at channels of rushing water flowing into the Colorado River. You go inside again and you find yourself, your wife, and 18 other tourists inside a cave lit by incandescent light bulbs. It is cool and damp as a castle. You also hear drips of water and see a tiny puddle on the dark red, shiny floor. Finally you are at the last stop, the diversion tunnel. A channel of water is rushing only 5-7 feet from where your foot is at. There are electronic diagrams showing the path of the flowing water.

"Wow!" "How did they make this dam without special equipment?" By now you have won a worthwhile fight and apologize to your wife for being cranky couple hours ago. You are baffled as your mind tries to comprehend such marvelous achievement; A man made lake, a man made dam with no one buried in cement, and power generated all the way west as far as L.A.!

The pros

There is a cool museum to revitalize your energy. You will not believe that the dam was never made with today's latest technology. They have literally made this magnificent marvel by hand! There are tour guides to match your budget. The $8 per person. The one I just mentioned above and the $25 hard hat tour. With the $25 hard hat tour, you might have problems with young children because of age requirements. However, you are rewarded with a hard at the conclusion of the hard hat tour.

The cons

Tourists plague the parking space and the museum! If you want to have fewer crowds, it is better to come during winter. During summer, the sun dries all the moisture on your hair. This result with itching scalp and loss of 2-10 strands of hair! To avoid this bring a hat/cap.

Recommended for

Engineers, families, and senior citizens. Engineers will appreciate the mechanical concepts of the dam. Parents and children will have no problem with the $8 regular tour. Senior citizens will truly appreciate the beauty of dam with a great view of crystal clear Lake Mead.

Not recommended for

Small kids. They would get very bored and can't appreciate the challenges that had to be met upon building the dam. They can't be accepted for the $25 hard hat tour due to age requirements. If you hate crowds of people, the parking lot is always full and it is impossible to read the articles, inside the museum, since tourists are everywhere you go.

I enjoyed my couple hours stay at Hoover Dam. It was fun watching the generators pump electricity utilizing hydro power. My grandmother have said, "You did not see Hoover Dam unless you went down where the generators are located at!" Indeed I went down all the way to see the generators, diversion tunnels, and its "caves." Hoover Dam is huge but what makes it amazing is that men created it so long ago with the aid of no "special effects."

For More Information

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for hoover dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Other valuable resources

Hoover Dam Tours
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours

2005-04-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Frankly My Dear I Do Give a Dam: The Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam. Unfortunately that visit fell in November 2001 and the Hoover Dam was pretty much closed to everything but straight drive through traffic in the wake of September 11th. I returned in November 2002 determined to finally visit.

The Hoover Dam had been reopened earlier in 2002. Unfortunately they had greatly modified the tour, no longer permitting people to visit the base of the dam or much of anything interesting. Instead the new tour concentrates on educating visitors through a series of movies, lectures, and exhibits rather than by letting us actually see anything of interest in operation.

Even so, the Hoover Dam is an engineering marvel worth visiting. Even when all you could do was look, it was worth visiting (and if you prefer, you can still choose to just walk or ride across the dam and enjoy the amazing views).

The Hoover Dam lies along the border of Nevada and Arizona and can be entered from either state. It's about a thirty minute ride from Las Vegas and thus an easy day trip for anyone vacationing in Sin City. If you don't have a car, numerous bus tours depart from Vegas daily. However you enter the dam area, you'll now need to go through a security checkpoint. The guards may just wave you through or they may stop you, ask some questions, and ask for identification. My friend and I came from the Nevada side and passed through that checkpoint without being stopped. However, we drove past the dam and ended up turning around in the Arizona checkpoint. When the guards saw that, they stopped us and asked us why we were turning around. They were satisfied with our answer - that my friend wanted to show me the view from the Arizona side of the dam and some of the flora and fauna nearby - and waved us back out without any further questions.

The parking area and visitor's center are on the Nevada side, but most of the best views of the dam are on the Arizona side. The road through the dam area circles around several times, getting ever higher, providing better and better full dam views at each of three successive overlooks. Surprisingly, although the dam itself was fairly crowded when we visited on a Saturday afternoon, very few folks seemed to go much beyond the visitor's center and the immediate dam area. The scenic overlooks were empty. If you visit, don't make the same mistake they did. It took us no more than ten extra minutes to drive up and stop at each overlook and they were definitely worth the slight extra effort to visit.

One thing to note is that the Hoover Dam is technically within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area but it's operated by the National Reclamation Service rather than the National Parks Service. That really surprised me, although on reflection I'm not sure why - the Hoover Dam may be a tourist attraction but its primary purpose is still to provide electricity for much of the Southwestern United States. In any case, don't expect your NPS passes to work at the dam.

I think parking was $5 for the day but I must admit I forgot to jot down the amount so I'm not 100% positive. It was definitely in that general vicinity though. I do remember it being a flat rate regardless of how long you stayed at the dam. The lot is on the far Nevada side - it's the first dam structure you pass when coming from Las Vegas - and fairly close to the visitor's center.

You can walk around for free or take an official tour for $10 per person. Each tour is capped at about 50 people so if the dam is busy you may have to wait a bit before you can get in. Although business was brisk during my visit, there weren't extensive waits for tour spots. I think we waited about 15 minutes between the line to buy tickets and the wait for the actual tour to start. We got into the first tour that started after we arrived.

Rather than assign a tour guide to lead you through the entire tour, each stopping point had its own ranger who concentrated on that particular element of the tour. This was both a good and a bad thing - it gave us the chance to get the impressions of many different people, but it also meant that when we got a particularly good guide we lost her at the next stop. Getting a bad guide after a good one was almost worse than getting saddled with a bad guide for the entire tour (perhaps not, but it certainly was a huge letdown, and now we knew what we were missing).

The first leg of the tour consists of a 25 minute movie on the building of the dam. It not only covered the design and construction, but the reasons for building the dam and the politics involved. Although I knew construction was dangerous, it really didn't sink in until I saw archival film of folks hanging by ropes down the mountain with sticks of dynamite. Even more incredible, they had almost no casualties, finished early, and finished under budget.

The movie was very interesting but don't expect spectacular film making. It's mostly patched together from archival footage from the 1920s and 30s. It's grainy, it's black and white, and it's jerky (remember, the person taking the pictures must have been hanging off the side of the mountain too, at least part of the time). Still, this was one of my favorite parts of the tour.

The second leg of the tour offers a short talk on the Department of Reclamation, its role in the government, and how the Hoover Dam fits in. Some of the material was already covered in the movie and the rest really seemed very "rah rah go us, we're so great" rather than truly useful or interesting to the visitor. It struck me as the "this is why you should convince your congressman to give us more money" section of the tour. To add insult to injury, the tour guide leading this section (and remember, it was essentially a speech) could hardly speak English. I'd tell you to skip this section of the tour except you can't leave your group.

The third stop was the only stop that gave us the chance to see any part of the working dam (as opposed to the scenic dam). We were led down an elevator to a long dark cave-like tunnel. At the end was a large balcony overlooking the end of the power generator room. The guide for this section was good and gave us an interesting talk on how the power generation works, how often the generators run, and how they decide how much power is needed, but it was difficult to see much of the generators themselves from our vantage point. It was sort of like sitting in the upper level seats behind the basket at a basketball game where all the action is taking place on the other half of the court. You can kind of get interesting glimpses of the ball now and then but for the most part you have to rely on the announcer to tell you what's going on.

The fourth leg was probably the nicest one. The last stop in the main visitor's center, the observation deck floor also has a few small exhibit rooms filled with video presentations showing dam construction, living conditions for workers, the political wrangling needed to successfully initiate the dam project, and other related information. Much of this was already covered in some detail in the first movie, but this section goes into more depth. This area also had some artifacts from the construction process, informational panels showing the new water flow, and a quiz section that offers multiple choice questions on things covered in the original movie and in this set of exhibits. The exhibits were fairly nice but not spectacular. There was enough repetition that I didn't want to sit through everything (rare for me) and the various video monitors were close enough to each others that sometimes you found yourself listening to two or even three at once, having to mentally sort out which one applied to what you were watching. The area could have been designed better, and perhaps rather than the repetitious exhibits we could have had a bit more original material. There also weren't any guides around in case of questions - the one guard in this area was monitoring in and out access to the observation deck.

The observation deck itself offered the best view of the bottom of the dam. Several stories above the top of the dam and inset a bit, this area overlooked the interior. Buildings at the bottom looked very much like matchbox cars, and you could really see the power of the water better here than elsewhere. Unfortunately this was the closest we got to the bottom - they no longer allow anyone to go down.

From the observation deck, you leave the visitor's center but there are technically a few more stops on the tour. The next stop is in front of a large winged man statue sitting on top of an artistic rendering of a star chart. According to the tour literature you'll find a guide there to talk about the artistic concepts but we didn't. Rather we found a few benches and a lot of running kids. The star chart was very out of proportion and the artist made some odd choices in deciding which stars to label and which not. I found myself somewhat indignant over the liberties the artist took at first, but once I got over that I enjoyed looking around.

The old exhibit hall displays photographs. Lots and lots of photographs. They're supposed to mainly be from the construction era, and from what we saw from outside they were basically still versions of the movies in the main visitor center. My friend and I decided to skip this section.

The last stop is at either the Nevada or Arizona intake tower. Basically, there's a short walkway out from the main dam road that you can walk and stand along. This time the promised guide was there, standing in front of the tower, but her five minute talk on the power of water and hydroelectricity was very superficial and boring. I still recommend visiting the intake towers because they offer a very different perspective on the dam itself and probably the most beautiful views of Lake Mead (as opposed to the dam).

I found the tour extremely disappointing. They obviously put it together very quickly so they could offer visitors something post-September 11th, and I appreciate the effort. However, I really wish they'd spent some time weeding out the redundancy and perhaps offered movie versions of the tours they no longer allow you to take so you can still see some of the inner workings of the dam. That said, the dam itself is breathtaking and well worth visiting. Two stars for the tour, five for the dam.

For More Information

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for hoover dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Other valuable resources

Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours

2005-04-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

One of the places I really wanted to visit on my first trip to Las Vegas was the Hoover Dam. Unfortunately that visit fell in November 2001 and the Hoover Dam was pretty much closed to everything but straight drive through traffic in the wake of September 11th. I returned in November 2002 determined to finally visit.

The Hoover Dam had been reopened earlier in 2002. Unfortunately they had greatly modified the tour, no longer permitting people to visit the base of the dam or much of anything interesting. Instead the new tour concentrates on educating visitors through a series of movies, lectures, and exhibits rather than by letting us actually see anything of interest in operation.

Even so, the Hoover Dam is an engineering marvel worth visiting. Even when all you could do was look, it was worth visiting (and if you prefer, you can still choose to just walk or ride across the dam and enjoy the amazing views).

The Hoover Dam lies along the border of Nevada and Arizona and can be entered from either state. It's about a thirty minute ride from Las Vegas and thus an easy day trip for anyone vacationing in Sin City. If you don't have a car, numerous bus tours depart from Vegas daily. However you enter the dam area, you'll now need to go through a security checkpoint. The guards may just wave you through or they may stop you, ask some questions, and ask for identification. My friend and I came from the Nevada side and passed through that checkpoint without being stopped. However, we drove past the dam and ended up turning around in the Arizona checkpoint. When the guards saw that, they stopped us and asked us why we were turning around. They were satisfied with our answer - that my friend wanted to show me the view from the Arizona side of the dam and some of the flora and fauna nearby - and waved us back out without any further questions.

The parking area and visitor's center are on the Nevada side, but most of the best views of the dam are on the Arizona side. The road through the dam area circles around several times, getting ever higher, providing better and better full dam views at each of three successive overlooks. Surprisingly, although the dam itself was fairly crowded when we visited on a Saturday afternoon, very few folks seemed to go much beyond the visitor's center and the immediate dam area. The scenic overlooks were empty. If you visit, don't make the same mistake they did. It took us no more than ten extra minutes to drive up and stop at each overlook and they were definitely worth the slight extra effort to visit.

One thing to note is that the Hoover Dam is technically within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area but it's operated by the National Reclamation Service rather than the National Parks Service. That really surprised me, although on reflection I'm not sure why - the Hoover Dam may be a tourist attraction but its primary purpose is still to provide electricity for much of the Southwestern United States. In any case, don't expect your NPS passes to work at the dam.

I think parking was $5 for the day but I must admit I forgot to jot down the amount so I'm not 100% positive. It was definitely in that general vicinity though. I do remember it being a flat rate regardless of how long you stayed at the dam. The lot is on the far Nevada side - it's the first dam structure you pass when coming from Las Vegas - and fairly close to the visitor's center.

You can walk around for free or take an official tour for $10 per person. Each tour is capped at about 50 people so if the dam is busy you may have to wait a bit before you can get in. Although business was brisk during my visit, there weren't extensive waits for tour spots. I think we waited about 15 minutes between the line to buy tickets and the wait for the actual tour to start. We got into the first tour that started after we arrived.

Rather than assign a tour guide to lead you through the entire tour, each stopping point had its own ranger who concentrated on that particular element of the tour. This was both a good and a bad thing - it gave us the chance to get the impressions of many different people, but it also meant that when we got a particularly good guide we lost her at the next stop. Getting a bad guide after a good one was almost worse than getting saddled with a bad guide for the entire tour (perhaps not, but it certainly was a huge letdown, and now we knew what we were missing).

The first leg of the tour consists of a 25 minute movie on the building of the dam. It not only covered the design and construction, but the reasons for building the dam and the politics involved. Although I knew construction was dangerous, it really didn't sink in until I saw archival film of folks hanging by ropes down the mountain with sticks of dynamite. Even more incredible, they had almost no casualties, finished early, and finished under budget.

The movie was very interesting but don't expect spectacular film making. It's mostly patched together from archival footage from the 1920s and 30s. It's grainy, it's black and white, and it's jerky (remember, the person taking the pictures must have been hanging off the side of the mountain too, at least part of the time). Still, this was one of my favorite parts of the tour.

The second leg of the tour offers a short talk on the Department of Reclamation, its role in the government, and how the Hoover Dam fits in. Some of the material was already covered in the movie and the rest really seemed very "rah rah go us, we're so great" rather than truly useful or interesting to the visitor. It struck me as the "this is why you should convince your congressman to give us more money" section of the tour. To add insult to injury, the tour guide leading this section (and remember, it was essentially a speech) could hardly speak English. I'd tell you to skip this section of the tour except you can't leave your group.

The third stop was the only stop that gave us the chance to see any part of the working dam (as opposed to the scenic dam). We were led down an elevator to a long dark cave-like tunnel. At the end was a large balcony overlooking the end of the power generator room. The guide for this section was good and gave us an interesting talk on how the power generation works, how often the generators run, and how they decide how much power is needed, but it was difficult to see much of the generators themselves from our vantage point. It was sort of like sitting in the upper level seats behind the basket at a basketball game where all the action is taking place on the other half of the court. You can kind of get interesting glimpses of the ball now and then but for the most part you have to rely on the announcer to tell you what's going on.

The fourth leg was probably the nicest one. The last stop in the main visitor's center, the observation deck floor also has a few small exhibit rooms filled with video presentations showing dam construction, living conditions for workers, the political wrangling needed to successfully initiate the dam project, and other related information. Much of this was already covered in some detail in the first movie, but this section goes into more depth. This area also had some artifacts from the construction process, informational panels showing the new water flow, and a quiz section that offers multiple choice questions on things covered in the original movie and in this set of exhibits. The exhibits were fairly nice but not spectacular. There was enough repetition that I didn't want to sit through everything (rare for me) and the various video monitors were close enough to each others that sometimes you found yourself listening to two or even three at once, having to mentally sort out which one applied to what you were watching. The area could have been designed better, and perhaps rather than the repetitious exhibits we could have had a bit more original material. There also weren't any guides around in case of questions - the one guard in this area was monitoring in and out access to the observation deck.

The observation deck itself offered the best view of the bottom of the dam. Several stories above the top of the dam and inset a bit, this area overlooked the interior. Buildings at the bottom looked very much like matchbox cars, and you could really see the power of the water better here than elsewhere. Unfortunately this was the closest we got to the bottom - they no longer allow anyone to go down.

From the observation deck, you leave the visitor's center but there are technically a few more stops on the tour. The next stop is in front of a large winged man statue sitting on top of an artistic rendering of a star chart. According to the tour literature you'll find a guide there to talk about the artistic concepts but we didn't. Rather we found a few benches and a lot of running kids. The star chart was very out of proportion and the artist made some odd choices in deciding which stars to label and which not. I found myself somewhat indignant over the liberties the artist took at first, but once I got over that I enjoyed looking around.

The old exhibit hall displays photographs. Lots and lots of photographs. They're supposed to mainly be from the construction era, and from what we saw from outside they were basically still versions of the movies in the main visitor center. My friend and I decided to skip this section.

The last stop is at either the Nevada or Arizona intake tower. Basically, there's a short walkway out from the main dam road that you can walk and stand along. This time the promised guide was there, standing in front of the tower, but her five minute talk on the power of water and hydroelectricity was very superficial and boring. I still recommend visiting the intake towers because they offer a very different perspective on the dam itself and probably the most beautiful views of Lake Mead (as opposed to the dam).

I found the tour extremely disappointing. They obviously put it together very quickly so they could offer visitors something post-September 11th, and I appreciate the effort. However, I really wish they'd spent some time weeding out the redundancy and perhaps offered movie versions of the tours they no longer allow you to take so you can still see some of the inner workings of the dam. That said, the dam itself is breathtaking and well worth visiting. Two stars for the tour, five for the dam.

Valuable Links:
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours

2005-04-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

I visited Hoover Dam in February as a side trip of my stay in Las Vegas (which was a side trip of my stay in California!).

If your're in Las Vegas it's probably worth half a day to visit Hoover Dam. The drive is approx. 90 minutes, most of which is a very scenic drive. Particularly the last 15-20 minutes which are spent slo-o-owly circling a very narrow and winding road. The colours of the rocks here are beautiful.

Before entering the visitors centre make sure you don't bring the following with you, as they are not allowed on the tour: bags of any kind, backpacks, camera cases.

The tour itself costs approx $8 per adult, for the standard tour. You could also take a more detailed tour for around $20.

First we were taken to a room where we were shown a video on the history of Hoover Dam. If you have children with you they could become restless during this part. We then waited for our guide to arrive. He was well informed and enthusiastic about what he was telling us, which always makes a difference in any tour. There's nothing worse in a tour than following a guide who's merely regurgitating paragraphs from a guide book!

First, we were taken down the turbines and outside the base of the dam briefly, then back inside to where we learnt how the dam works. It was interesting to hear how important the dam was to the area. Now again if you have small children, or find educational commentary boring, you're probably going to become impatient.

You can use your camera in here but the best photos can be taken at the very top of the lookout. We were lucky enough to have the sunset coming over the rocks and dam as we took pics.

Our guide spoke of how so many men died building the dam and as he finished the tour and we gazed at the dam a feeling of awe set in. You could feel the history all around. The pictures in the visitors centre of the men working in unbearable heat stuck in my mind as I watched the giant cylinders. A man made wonder that truly does stick in one's mind long after the tour has ended.

P.S. Take a moment to put one foot in Nevada and the other in Arizona on the bridge over the dam!

Valuable Links:
Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours
Hoover Dam Tours

That's one damn big dam - Hoover Dam

2005-04-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

Driving across the desert, the road curves around and starts dropping to what can only be described as an incredible feat of engineering, Hoover Dam. First-time (and even returning) visitors will be amazed at how the dam fills the Colorado River’s gorge and by how large the dam simply is. Hoover Dam is an imposing presence and something that is worth seeing if you’re in the southern Nevada area.

Where’s the dam?

Hoover Dam straddles the Colorado River, which separates southern Nevada and Arizona. It also straddles two time zones – so you could technically have one foot an hour ahead or behind the other.

The dam is about 30 miles east of Las Vegas on US Highway 93. The road itself travels across Hoover Dam to cross into Arizona. Because of security concerns since September 11th tractor trailers and other select vehicles are prohibited from crossing the dam (they have to detour south through Laughlin, NV). Cars and campers can still cross the dam, but you are subject to searches before crossing.

If you don’t have a car and you’re in the Vegas area, there are innumerable bus tours that are run from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam.

Keep in mind

Hoover Dam is in the desert. It gets extremely hot. I was there in August and it was 115 degrees. At these temperatures you can get dehydrated very fast and can suffer from heat exhaustion or heat stroke. You should have plenty of water with you and you should pace yourself wherever you are going to stop yourself from overheating. Sunscreen or sun block is also a good idea because the sun can be very strong.

What’s at the dam?

Beyond just driving through the gorge and across the dam, visitors can stop at the Bureau of Reclamation’s visitor center for Hoover Dam. While simply driving through and stopping at the overlooks along the road give you some awesome views of the dam and an idea of its size, stopping at the Visitor Center gives you a chance to learn about the history, construction and operation of the dam.

The Visitor Center and the parking for the center are located on the Nevada side of the river. If you are coming from Nevada, the parking structure is the first building you will see on your left. Parking is $5 a day and they only accept cash.

After parking, you will walk down to the Visitor Center by either taking several flights of stairs (depending on where in the parking structure you parked) or by an elevator. The parking garage and center are handicap accessible.

At this point of your visit to Hoover Dam, you have two choices: you can pay to take the “Hoover Dam Discovery Tour;” or explore the dam on your own. If you decide to not take the tour, you will miss out seeing certain areas, such as the electric generation galleys inside of the dam and you won’t have the benefit of rangers providing interpretive information at each location.

The Tour

If you decide to pay for the Discovery Tour ($10 for adults & $5 for kids), you’ll get a somewhat more intimate view of the dam, then if you had just walked around the site.

The tour groups are limited to 50 people, so on busy days there could be quite a wait. They will start a tour every time they have reached a group with 50 people. The last time I was there, we waited about 15 minutes before the tour we had signed up with started. The tour is setup as a series of “stations,” where a ranger is stationed at each site and talks only about that stop.

The tour starts with a movie on the history and construction of the dam. It’s interesting, though I would imagine someone with only a passing interest in the dam might not be all that interested. However it does give you a good idea of the work that it took to build Hoover Dam and you’ll be amazed by some of the facts presented.

Following the movie, you’re greeted by a Ranger who goes over who the Bureau of Reclamation is, what they do and how they manage Hoover Dam. Luckily it’s a fairly short stop along the tour because it’s not that interesting unless you are a bureaucrat.

Next up is a ride down an elevator into the dam itself (actually the gorge wall). When the elevator’s doors open, you are greeted by a Ranger who leads you through a tunnel carved from the rock of the Canyon to a balcony overlooking the power generation room. This is a huge room filled with the turbines powered by the falling water. Because you are so far removed from the equipment, it can be hard to get a good look and you’ll find yourself wishing they would take you closer. It can also be quite loud, so you should stay close to the Ranger to make sure that you can hear them.

After taking the Elevator back, instead of getting off where you got on, you are taken to the upper level of the visitor center to the observation platform. In addition to the views themselves, this area is filled with a few small exhibits on the dam and the area surrounding the dam. The exhibits are fairly interesting but a bit overcrowded and repetitive. After walking around for a few minutes, I didn’t bother with anymore exhibits, instead I headed over to the viewing area for the dam. From the windows of the observation platform, you can look straight down to the base of the dam. You can see the structures down there and you can see the water powering its way out of these structures. It gives you a good idea of exactly how big Hoover Dam is and how much power it represents.

Beyond here, the tour also includes stops at the old visitor center, the winged statue and either the Arizona or Nevada intake structures. At the intake structures, a Ranger will take you out to the structure itself along a narrow walkway. Once you’re out there, you can get a fairly good look at Lake Mead. The old visitor center holds photographs of the dam, from construction to today. There’s also a small snack bar located here that serves ice cream and refreshments. At the time I was last there, local Native American artisans had small displays setup throughout the old center and were selling local arts and crafts. Finally the winged statue and surrounding star chart are interesting to look at, but beyond maybe a picture or two, isn’t that interesting. There’s also a gift shop that sells typical tourist stuff, along with books and videos on Hoover Dam.

What else?

The top of the dam is open to pedestrians and you are free to take as long as you want walking along the sidewalks, looking over the dam and enjoying the scenery. You can also visit the various overlooks that are provided along the sides of the road on both the Arizona and Nevada sides of the gorge. You should probably drive and pull into each overlook instead of trying to walk. Besides the heat, the road is very narrow and traffic can be quite dangerous as there are no separate sidewalks. Generally the overlooks are not that crowded and make up a good alternate if the visitor center is full and you can’t get a tour.

My Thoughts

After hearing stories about the Hoover Dam tour from my parents, where you were taken down into the very heart of the dam and the power generation facilities, the new “Discovery Tour” is a complete letdown and disappointment. Beyond the quick trip down to the balcony overlooking the generators, you really aren’t shown anything beyond the outside of the dam. I know this is because of security concerns post 9-11, but it is a disappointment nonetheless.

On the tour you will get a good look at the dam and the exhibits and movie are enjoyable, but you won’t get a close-up look at anything beyond the pictures in the exhibits.

Even though it might not be perfect, at the moment it’s all that Hoover Dam offers and for first time visitors who never have had a tour, I couldn’t not recommend the tour to them. If you’ve already gone on a tour prior to 9-11, save yourself some grief and don’t bother unless you have friends or family with you that hasn’t seen the dam.

If you don’t take the tour, take the time to walk the top of the dam and to stop at each of the overlooks along the road. They will give you a good idea of the size and magnitude of the dam, without taking the tour.

For More Information

The Bureau of Reclamation maintains a website for Hoover Dam at http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/. The site provides basic information the dam, hours of operation, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Final Thoughts

Hoover Dam is big and impressive.

While it may not be a destination you plan a vacation around, it’s worth a visit if you are in the general area. It’s only about 40 minutes from Las Vegas and is also easily accessible from western Arizona.

The official tour of the dam isn’t like it used to be because of security concerns, but it is fun and interesting nonetheless. It will give you a good idea of the dam’s history, its construction and help you get a handle on the dam today. Should you not take the tour, it’s worth stopping at the various overlooks on both the Arizona and Nevada side of the river, along with taking the time to walk across the top of the dam.

Hoover Dam is worth at least a half-day of your time, it’s not too often you get to see structures of this size and magnitude.

For More Information

Paradise Found Tours maintains a website for Hoover Dam at www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for hoover dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Other valuable resources

Grand Canyon Tours
Las Vegas Tours

Hoover Dam tour by helicopter

2005-03-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

Hoover Dam tour by helicopter or bus is well worth the money. Driving across the desert, the road curves around and starts dropping to what can only be described as an incredible feat of engineering, Hoover Dam. First-time (and even returning) visitors will be amazed at how the dam fills the Colorado River’s gorge and by how large the dam simply is. Hoover Damn is an imposing presence and something that is worth seeing if you’re in the southern Nevada area.

Where is Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam straddles the Colorado River, which separates southern Nevada and Arizona. It also straddles two time zones – so you could technically have one foot an hour ahead or behind the other.

The dam is about 30 miles east of Las Vegas on US Highway 93. The road itself travels across Hoover Dam to cross into Arizona. Because of security concerns since September 11th tractor trailers and other select vehicles are prohibited from crossing the dam (they have to detour south through Laughlin, NV). Cars and campers can still cross the dam, but you are subject to searches before crossing.

If you don’t have a car and you’re in the Vegas area, there are innumerable bus tours that are run from Las Vegas to Hoover Dam.

Keep in mind

Hoover Dam is in the desert. It gets extremely hot. I was there in August and it was 115 degrees. At these temperatures you can get dehydrated very fast and can suffer from heat exhaustion or heat stroke. You should have plenty of water with you and you should pace yourself wherever you are going to stop yourself from overheating. Sunscreen or sun block is also a good idea because the sun can be very strong.

What is at Hoover Dam?

Beyond just driving through the gorge and across the dam, visitors can stop at the Bureau of Reclamation’s visitor center for Hoover Dam. While simply driving through and stopping at the overlooks along the road give you some awesome views of the dam and an idea of its size, stopping at the Visitor Center gives you a chance to learn about the history, construction and operation of the dam.

The Visitor Center and the parking for the center are located on the Nevada side of the river. If you are coming from Nevada, the parking structure is the first building you will see on your left. Parking is $5 a day and they only accept cash.

After parking, you will walk down to the Visitor Center by either taking several flights of stairs (depending on where in the parking structure you parked) or by an elevator. The parking garage and center are handicap accessible.

At this point of your visit to Hoover Dam, you have two choices: you can pay to take the “Hoover Dam Discovery Tour;” or explore the dam on your own. If you decide to not take the tour, you will miss out seeing certain areas, such as the electric generation galleys inside of the dam and you won’t have the benefit of rangers providing interpretive information at each location.

Hoover Dam Tour

If you decide to pay for the Discovery Tour ($10 for adults & $5 for kids), you’ll get a somewhat more intimate view of the dam, then if you had just walked around the site.

The tour groups are limited to 50 people, so on busy days there could be quite a wait. They will start a tour every time they have reached a group with 50 people. The last time I was there, we waited about 15 minutes before the tour we had signed up with started. The tour is setup as a series of “stations,” where a ranger is stationed at each site and talks only about that stop.

The tour starts with a movie on the history and construction of the dam. It’s interesting, though I would imagine someone with only a passing interest in the dam might not be all that interested. However it does give you a good idea of the work that it took to build Hoover Dam and you’ll be amazed by some of the facts presented.

Following the movie, you’re greeted by a Ranger who goes over who the Bureau of Reclamation is, what they do and how they manage Hoover Dam. Luckily it’s a fairly short stop along the tour because it’s not that interesting unless you are a bureaucrat.

Next up is a ride down an elevator into the dam itself (actually the gorge wall). When the elevator’s doors open, you are greeted by a Ranger who leads you through a tunnel carved from the rock of the Canyon to a balcony overlooking the power generation room. This is a huge room filled with the turbines powered by the falling water. Because you are so far removed from the equipment, it can be hard to get a good look and you’ll find yourself wishing they would take you closer. It can also be quite loud, so you should stay close to the Ranger to make sure that you can hear them.

After taking the Elevator back, instead of getting off where you got on, you are taken to the upper level of the visitor center to the observation platform. In addition to the views themselves, this area is filled with a few small exhibits on the dam and the area surrounding the dam. The exhibits are fairly interesting but a bit overcrowded and repetitive. After walking around for a few minutes, I didn’t bother with anymore exhibits, instead I headed over to the viewing area for the dam. From the windows of the observation platform, you can look straight down to the base of the dam. You can see the structures down there and you can see the water powering its way out of these structures. It gives you a good idea of exactly how big Hoover Dam is and how much power it represents.

Beyond here, the tour also includes stops at the old visitor center, the winged statue and either the Arizona or Nevada intake structures. At the intake structures, a Ranger will take you out to the structure itself along a narrow walkway. Once you’re out there, you can get a fairly good look at Lake Mead. The old visitor center holds photographs of the dam, from construction to today. There’s also a small snack bar located here that serves ice cream and refreshments. At the time I was last there, local Native American artisans had small displays setup throughout the old center and were selling local arts and crafts. Finally the winged statue and surrounding star chart are interesting to look at, but beyond maybe a picture or two, isn’t that interesting. There’s also a gift shop that sells typical tourist stuff, along with books and videos on Hoover Dam.

What else?

The top of the dam is open to pedestrians and you are free to take as long as you want walking along the sidewalks, looking over the dam and enjoying the scenery. You can also visit the various overlooks that are provided along the sides of the road on both the Arizona and Nevada sides of the gorge. You should probably drive and pull into each overlook instead of trying to walk. Besides the heat, the road is very narrow and traffic can be quite dangerous as there are no separate sidewalks. Generally the overlooks are not that crowded and make up a good alternate if the visitor center is full and you can’t get a tour.

My Thoughts

After hearing stories about the Hoover Dam tour from my parents, where you were taken down into the very heart of the dam and the power generation facilities, the new “Discovery Tour” is a complete letdown and disappointment. Beyond the quick trip down to the balcony overlooking the generators, you really aren’t shown anything beyond the outside of the dam. I know this is because of security concerns post 9-11, but it is a disappointment nonetheless.

On the tour you will get a good look at the dam and the exhibits and movie are enjoyable, but you won’t get a close-up look at anything beyond the pictures in the exhibits.

Even though it might not be perfect, at the moment it’s all that Hoover Dam offers and for first time visitors who never have had a tour, I couldn’t not recommend the tour to them. If you’ve already gone on a tour prior to 9-11, save yourself some grief and don’t bother unless you have friends or family with you that hasn’t seen the dam.

If you don’t take the tour, take the time to walk the top of the dam and to stop at each of the overlooks along the road. They will give you a good idea of the size and magnitude of the dam, without taking the tour.

For More Information

Paradisefoundtours.com maintains a website for Hoover Dam at http://www.paradisefoundtours.com. The site provides information for hoover dam tours, special news, fees and other pertinent information.

Final Thoughts

Hoover Dam is big and impressive.

While it may not be a destination you plan a vacation around, it’s worth a visit if you are in the general area. It’s only about 40 minutes from Las Vegas and is also easily accessible from western Arizona.

The official tour of the dam isn’t like it used to be because of security concerns, but it is fun and interesting nonetheless. It will give you a good idea of the dam’s history, its construction and help you get a handle on the dam today. Should you not take the tour, it’s worth stopping at the various overlooks on both the Arizona and Nevada side of the river, along with taking the time to walk across the top of the dam.

Hoover Dam is worth at least a half-day of your time, it’s not too often you get to see structures of this size and magnitude.

Hoover Dam: Not just another Wall

2005-03-18T23:11:00.000-08:00

No, it isn't just any wall. It's a federal highway, a electrical generating station, a tourist magnet, a gold mine to the local economy of Boulder City, a facilitator of beautiful Lake Mead, a federal facility, and one of the Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders of America!

It doesn't matter if you are a Discovery Channel (documentary) nut, a tourist out for fun in the sun, a history enthusiast, a highway traveler, or a child riding on Dad's back. The shear size of this monumental structure caught between the jagged walls of a steep ravine in the desert sun will amaze you. Giant high-power wire towers jut out on an angle over the canyon walls above the dam providing the link between the dam's vitality and the consumers that stretch as far as LA.

During a recent business trip, I diverted from my path home to Chicago from LA. I had decided to drive to Las Vegas (to which I never visited) before flying home to Chi Town. I stayed with family and toured the strip. One of my fondest memories, however, was the visit to Hoover on that beautiful sunny March morning away from the endless cloudy, cold days in Chicago.

The tour was intriguing and the guides take effort in their crafted mix of humor and facts. Trips through tunnels, through the power plant, into the diversion tubes and along the base of the dam are definitely worth the time. Don't miss the chance to see this mammoth monument to our nation's history. Just be sure to get there early in the day (before 10:30am) or you will be in line on the road in, in the parking garage, and to get tickets.

Hoover Dam: House Boating Great College Vacation!

2005-03-18T23:10:00.001-08:00

I went to Lake Mead with a bunch of friends right after graduation and it was a beautiful vacation spot! A number of companies rent out houseboats to tourists (the names of these companies can be obtained through the National Parks Service). Houseboats can be rented to sleep as few as 6 or as many as 12 or more.

It is a great alternative to camping, since you have amenities such as running water and electricity. House boating is a great way to catch up with old friends as there is so much time to talk. It is also a good combination of sports and leisure. One can swim and hike as much as one likes, or lie in the sun, or sit in the shade. Since house boats are equipped with barbecues, leisurely barbecues can be a daily feature of the vacation.

Lake Mead is the man-made lake created by the Hoover Dam about an hour outside Vegas. The scenery is spectacular. The lake is surround by the dessert and tall rock formations. There is enough diversity in the formations that the scenery differs greatly across the lake, making exploration a fun day activity.

We vacationed in mid-June and it was hot. Days were as hot as 110 degrees. We ended up sleeping on the roof of the boat under the stars as it was cooler. However, as the sun popped over the mountains, the temperature increased drastically. May probably would have been a more enjoyable time to boat.

If you decide to go, don't forget bug repellant, a swim suit, sun block, plenty of water, and lots of money for gas.

Hoover Dam: A truly awesome piece of history!

2005-03-18T23:10:00.000-08:00

My husband and I got married in Las Vegas in December of 1999, and he really wanted to see Hoover Dam. I was not too impressed with the idea, but went along anyway. I am so glad that I did! Hoover Dam was a wonderously huge, beautiful sight to see!

We were there in December, the weather was perfect, some people had light jackets on. There is ample parking in the new multi level garage that was just built within a couple of years ago. They also added a beautiful visitors center there. We first went inside to see the displays that they have there, and there is a movie to watch about the history of the Dam. We took the $8 basic tour of the dam where you get to go into the dam and see the turbines and walk thru the tunnels and see how the dam was built and what it is all about. Then you get to go down on the down river side of the dam and see it from below! It is an awesome sight! The dam is definately bigger than anything that I have EVER seen in my life! After the tour, we took a walk around the top of the dam, and they have made it so that you can walk all the way across into Arizona if you want to.

There is also a nice gift shop there and a snack bar which the prices were kind of high at.

The next time we go, hopefully we will take the kids, it is definately something they would enjoy. There's not any "fun" stuff to do, but they will definately enjoy seeing how big it is.

I would recommend this trip to anyone in the area. It is a wonderful place to spend a few hours learning about history and seeing the huge size of! I thoroughly enjoyed my time there even when I thought I would not.

Hoover Dam: Dont Dare Carry Your Purse

2005-03-18T23:09:00.000-08:00

We took a tour of hoover dam while vacationing in vegas. Kids were bored with it after seeing all the rollercoasters and arcades in vegas. We had turned our radio on the station that the signs tell you to tune in to for dam info. It tell you not to carry purses or camera bags to the dam for security purposes. We didn't even carry our water bottle to be safe. Believe me, you don't want to make that long walk from your car in that heat only to be told you can't go in, there's not even a place to check your belongings and they don't bother with looking thru it. People were hoppin mad.

O.k. now the dam tour itself was interesting but in a very factual, history lesson type way. Some brilliant minds and lots of sweat and guts went into making that thing. If your planning on taking young kids be ready to hear some whining. It gets very hot but most of the tour is indoors. you can carry a clear water bottle inside and a camera, just not anything that looks like a case.

Hoover Dam: Don't Look Down!

2005-03-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

Less than half an hour from Las Vegas, tourists can find Hoover Dam, marvelous both as a feat of engineering and as a vantage point for some spectacular scenery.

The dam is built on the Colorado River at the end of Lake Mead, a mecca for scenic vantage and outdoor activity. The contrast between the dark blue of the water, the light blue (usually) of the sky and the deep red of the surrounding sandstone is spectacular.

To be sure, there is not all that much to do at the Hoover Dam; the dam takes a few minutes to walk across, and on the Arizona side, there are some interpretive exhibits and gift shops. The requisite photo shoot, be it looking down (more than 600 feet) the vast surface of the dam, or posing with Lake Mead as a backdrop, will not take more than an hour or so. But its proximity to Las Vegas makes it an excellent side trip.

The area is largely exposed, and it tends to get very hot in the summer. Dress accordingly.

Hoover Dam - A National Historic Landmark

2004-08-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

Pea soup. it's what i remember most about the hoover dam from my visit. not *actual* pea soup, you understand, but the colour of the colorado river behind the dam. apparently they've had a lot of algae this year, and with the algae living near the top of the water, and the intake towers emptying water from the bottom, it's got a bit concentrated. concentrated to the point where the water is completely opaque, and very, very green.

anyway. the dam. it brought work to thousands during the depression, it prevents flooding on valuable agricultural land downstream, it supplies electricity to arizona, california and nevada (someone has to power all those slot machines!), and it's a damn (sorry) good stop for tourists.

approaching the dam from the east, there's not much to see. just road and rocks, like almost everything else in arizona. then you hit the edge of the canyon, and begin to zigzag down to the level of the top of the dam, and you think... it doesn't look *that* big. you see, the top is only 45 feet wide, and somehow the jam of cars and lorries crawling across it (up to 20,000 a day apparently) makes it look even smaller. (this traffic can also lead to large delays in summer, of up to an hour or more.) then you notice the drop on the far side, and although you can't see it all, you do notice the size then. in fact, the dam is 726 feet high (about 60 storeys) - perhaps it's just as well you don't get the full effect straight away!

on the nevada side is the whole visitor centre and car park complex. the tourist experience starts here, and that means you have to pay. parking is $3, although you do get to park in the shade, in a multistorey car park built back into the canyon walls. it's still not cool, but at least you don't leave the car in the sun. don't forget your hat, sunglasses, suncream, water bottle (it was 110 degrees fahrenheit when i went in late may) and camera. you can take a bag, but you will have it X-rayed (like at the airport) on entrance. Cameras are no problem, as long as they are for private use.

Entrance fees vary according to what you want to do (no, really). They range from $4 for exhibits only (a bit dull), to $25 for the full "Hard Hat Tour" - full details can easily be found on the website linked from this category. My friends and I went for the whole shebang - a Hard Hat Tour, to take us into the depths of the dam and get the works on, well, the works. These are timed tickets, however, so you may have some time to kill before your slot. Also, make sure your whole group orders their tickets together - you can pay separately, but order together to make sure you get on the same tour. Cheaper, shorter tours are available - these are non-timed, in much larger groups, and you don't get a hard hat to keep!

Killing time is done by checking out the exhibitions. These comprise: an interesting 20(ish) minute film on the construction of the dam, some information boards on the same subject, and more information on where the water goes, who uses the most, and also recreation opportunities around Lake Mead (formed by the dam and stretching 110 miles upstream, it holds enough water to flood New York state to a depth of 1 foot). There's a viewing platform, where you can be frazzled by the sun as it bounces off the concrete, and get a little dizzy looking down to the boiling turbulence of the exiting water. Overall, there's nothing amazingly whizzy or interactive, and you may well get rather bored if you have a long wait for your tour. If you want a drink, snack, or souvenir, you'll find them up by the car park, which means going out of the secure area, and queueing again for security and to show your tickets.

So, you've waited and waited... time for the tour. Everyone's feeling a little silly in their regulation blue hard hat, but there are no exceptions! Also, you are recommended at several points not to wear open shoes, but I did the tour in sandals and found no difficulties. Apart from a few steps, there is nothing I saw that made me think about my footwear, although I would certainly not recommend heels! The steps and confined spaces also make the tour inaccessible to wheelchair users. The final safety point is that you're given some gorgeous foam earplugs - ours were an attractive shade of green, and I'm sad to say I saved them and re-used them on the plane home (they worked very well actually!). You only need to wear them at one place on the tour, though.

The guides range from old guys who look like they helped build the thing through to young whippersnappers. Several of them are bilingual - our guide also spoke Spanish, according to his badge. The tour lasts about an hour, and involves a reasonable amount of walking, but not too much. You get to see the turbine halls, the turbines themselves (hence earplugs), some of the tunnels in the rock, and even walk down a ventilation shaft to look out of the face of the dam itself (pretty amazing). I found it fascinating - I was amazed by the sheer scale of everything, and tried (and failed) to remember all the information that was thrown at us, but it gave me a good feel for how the whole thing works.

The tour was accompanied by a running commentary full of facts and figures, trivia (like the dam's appearance in films such as National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation), the odd bad joke or two, and even a couple of pop quizzes! Children under seven aren't allowed on the tour, but the commentary is pitched at a level suitable for older children, so they shouldn't get too bored. I'm not sure it's "cool" enough for a lot of kids to enjoy, though.

The fact that NO-ONE is entombed in the concrete of the dam was heavily stressed to us, and having seen the information film, you understand - the maximum loads of concrete that the cranes could lift at that time were not enough to bury a man, being only 5" deep when spread over the block being worked on. Would you lie there and wait for five more loads of concrete?! Ninety-six men did die, however (mostly from being hit by falling rock), and coincidentally, the last man to die was the son of the first.

The final lift journey is *very* squished as it uses an original tourist lift, whereas the trip down is in a newer, smoother-riding one. For this reason, as well as the journey through some relatively small tunnels and into the turbine room, I would not recommend the tour to anyone not fond of small spaces (or lifts!). Once at the top, you're disgorged onto the pavement on top of the dam, and left to run the gauntlet of traffic to get back to the car park.

A quick word about the facilities. The toilets were clean, although not spotless, and there were plenty of water fountains around. The cafe was nothing to write home about, selling the usual food (burgers, hot dogs, nachos, fizzy drinks) at the usual tourist prices. The souvenir shop is fairly large, and seemed to have a good selection of the usual tack, from postcards to t-shirts, and any souvenir gimmick that they could write " Hoover Dam tour", "Nevada" or "Arizona" on. About average, I'd say.

And that about sums it up. The facts and figures sprinkled in this review are from the excellent website, which I thoroughtly recommend looking at before you visit, if only for the information on prices etc. There's nothing about pea soup though.

Hoover Dam: The Best Damn Tour I've Been On!

2004-08-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

Hoover Dam is a very interesting monument. While on the tour, I learned so much about Hoover Dam. (stuff that school never teaches you.) The story of how the dam was built is amazing. Lake Mead was beautiful! Lake Mead had the bluest water I've ever seen! It seemed unreal!

The whole Hoover Dam experience begins with you waiting in a long line to purchase tickets. After you purchase tickets, you wait for a little bit, and then you go into a theater to watch a movie about the Hoover Dam. The movie is very cool. It talks about the history of the Hoover Dam--how it was built, when it was built, why it was built...etc. Then after you finish watching the movie, you wait in a line to go on your tour. ]

The tour is very fun and informative. You get to go through the actual powerplant, and you go through the inside of the dam, and finally, you go to the very bottom of the dam. The tour guide I had when I went there was very funny, most of the tour guides are. If you've ever seen the tour guide from the movie Vegas Vacation, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Word of the Wise: Don't go to Hoover Dam during the summer. It gets very crowded and HOT! If you do go during the summer, I recommend going on a weekday, and be prepared for hot weather. At the bottom of the dam, it gets at least 20 degrees hotter than it is at the top of the dam. Suntan lotion, sunglasses, and a hat are highly recommended for the summer months!

Hoover Dam Is Huge!

2004-08-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

the first thing that has to be said about the hoover dam is that it is huge! it is situated on the border between nevada and arizona and supplies electricity to both states as well as southern california. when you think about it they need a huge electricity supply to keep all the lights burning brightly on the las vegas strip. what would they do without the hoover dam?!

the dam was a major feat of engineering and yet only took 5 years to build. however there is the story that the concrete in the centre of the dam is still drying out - there's so much of it! the dam is 221 metres high and is 379 m long at the top. you don't really appreciate how high it is until you look over the top. when i was there a couple of years ago, the sheer scale of it overawed me. when i looked over the edge down to the blue colorado river below, a definite sense of vertigo overcame me. i can't believe that a stuntman jumped off the hoover dam for one of the bond films. he was either very brave of very stupid (or being paid a huge amount of money!). saying that, there is absolutely nothing to stop you climbing up and throwing yourself off. the americans appear to be very liberal about this sort of thing and the same situation occurs at the grand canyon where extremely steep drops are not fenced off.

anyway, i digress. you can take tours of the dam every day between 8am and 5.45pm during high season and 9am until 3.15pm in the off-season. you enter the lift by way of an elevator and the tours last 40 mins. the tours are extremely cheap at only a few dollars and are therefore very popular! the queues can be huge. the tacky souvenir shop is not to be missed with its t-shirts, posters and erasers. the tat that some people will buy. i should warn you that, like many other places in arizona etc, it can e incredibly hot at the dam so wear sun cream and drink plenty of water.

so what did the dam create? it created lake mead, which is one of the largest artificially created bodies of water in the world. Lake Mead covers an area of 603 sq. km and has a shoreline measuring 885 km. It's HUGE! Lake Mead stopped the Colorado river in its tracks, flooding canyons, archaeological sites, wilderness areas and communities. However, people seem to have been forgiving and enjoy the area as a holiday and leisure resort. Boating holidays are extremely popular on Lake Mead as is fishing.

Word of warning about Lake Mead. When I visited there I was on a trekking holiday and we decided to camp out on the shore of Lake Mead. We hired a couple of speedboats and spent an enjoyable afternoon water skiing and pottering about. We had set our tents up on the shore overlooking the lake and the distant hills. As we were having a lunch the sky darkened over by the hills. A storm was coming but it was still a long way off or so we thought. All of a sudden a gale force wind came from nowhere and ripped our main communal shelter right out of the ground. Everyone had to run into tents to weight them down as the gale force wind blew sand in our face. Not much fun for me as I wear contact lenses! For several hours we sheltered in our tents weighing them down with our body weight and large boulders. It was one of the scariest experiences I've ever had in my life. When the wind and the rain finally subsided we all crawled out the tents. One tent was ruined as the strength of the wind had bent all the poles. Several flysheets were torn and some of our belongings were strewn about the site.
I've no idea how strong the wind was but it was definitely gale force. The really strange thing was that it had been deadly calm with not a breath of wind before this gale struck. It was certainly the strangest weather I've experienced.

So visit the wondrous Hoover dam and the gorgeous relaxing Lake Mead but when you see the sky darken, take cover!

Hoover Dam: TAKE THE HARD HAT TOUR!!!!

2004-08-02T00:31:00.000-07:00

When I took the Hard Hat Tour in 97, I was informed that this version of the tour had only been going for three years, meaning it may be coming up to only its 7th anniversary now. My friend and I left the tour really happy that we had spent the extra money for the longer tour. Afterward, we had an older gentleman strike up a conversation with us about the tour. Noticing our hard hats, he asked us questions he had after his lower priced tour... to our amazement, we were able to answer most of his questions. As we walked back to our car, we were even happier we shelled out the extra money.

Over time, I've forgotten a lot of the info from the tour. My folks took the same tour a year after me, and were able to bring a video camera along. It's a good idea, and I'd try to find the best audio assistance you could obtain with your camcorder. Obviously parts of the tour will be too noisy to record effectively, but it may help preserve some of the more interesting facts your guide may offer. In watching bits of my folks tape (which didn't amount to much due to battery considerations), I didn't feel their guide was as thorough or, well, fun as ours. I think we definitely got one of the better ones. Fortunately, my folks certainly felt they got their moneys worth, so although some are better than others, they are likely all quite knowledgeable.

(Note: Having just looked at their website, security has tightened up so that no bags, purses or fannypacks are allowed, and they also recommend reservations be booked at least a day in advance of your plans. You may want to check on the ability to videotape the tour when calling ahead.)

Let me also say that our tour went longer than even the prescribed hour, perhaps as long as 80 minutes, so we really got a steal! I hope you get as lucky, but I will address the importance of a good guide a bit later.

Some other tips (Learn from my mistakes):

Beating the Heat - Bring cold water, and save at least half your bottle for after the tour. You'll likely spend at least an hour looking around afterward at the gift shop and the historical plaques on your way back to the parking structure. You could buy some at the shop, but it'll cost ya some.

Beating the Crowds - Everybody says it, nobody does it. Try to time it so you get there just as it opens, and you'll save time all around. Since I understand the Lake Mead Cruise takes about 4 hours (double check that), it's possible to do both tours in the same day. Since at least one person on this forum said the Hard Hat Tours were sold out when they wanted to go, the idea of getting there early is key. (The website says Hard Hat Tours begin at 9 a.m.)

Tour Size - The significance of being in a smaller group for the Hard Hat Tour vs. the regular ones is amplified since elevators are utilized during your tour. I noticed the regular groups were often waiting for the whole group of 80+ members to all get to the same spot - a half-hour tour chewed up by playing the waiting game is time wasted!! And its likely a lot harder to hear your guide, much less ask questions. Our group all traveled together consistently, and the elevator rides were opportunities for more questions.

At one point on our tour, the guide talked about trying to get a third level of tours for $40 where you would get little pocket protectors and advertise it as "The Geek Tour". I would probably pay it. The appreciation I have for the project and the small factoids I recall (The dam was originally constructed for water containment, not power generation, and none of the lights you see on the Strip are lit by Hoover Dam) are utterly fascinating. Next to the Pyramids, can you think of any greater or more vital human endeavor? Apparently a lot of lobbying was done to get The Hard Hat Tour started, since security concerns were at issue. I compel you to support their efforts and honor those who spent themselves to build it.

Take the Express Hoover Dam Tour

2004-08-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

The Express Hoover Dam tour was a good experience for me. I enjoyed it, and have been there twice. It's so ... BIG! I couldn't believe it when standing at the bottom and looking up that this huge wall was holding back all that water. It's amazing that it actually can hold that force. Looking from the top down is something else, if you're not crazy about being high up, don't look! It gets a little bit scary.

The tour is very informative, interesting, and fun. I'd recommend taking it and enjoying it. Listening to your Dam Guide (he tells you that he is your Dam guide, and adds all sorts of interesting Dam information) you get to see the workings and learn some interesting things about it.

The view of the lake is pretty, the water is so very blue, and if you look over the edge, you even get to see some HUGE fish swimming around. I wonder if they're waiting for a hand out or two? On the Arizona side is a pull over ... I'd stop there to take a look at the lake, it's gorgeous!

I liked the drive down to the dam, didn't get to see any mountain goats or anything, but the scenery is very pretty. We came from the Nevada side.

I also like how they have two clocks, one with Nevada time, one with Arizona time.

Driving across it is an interesting experience, you really have to watch all the people walking around, because they WILL walk in front of you without warning. There is alot of people and auto traffic.